It is a date Nottingham Forest will hope they don’t need to mark down in the diary, but the English Football League have confirmed when next season’s fixtures will be released.
The Reds are gunning for promotion from the Championship, and will want to be planning for Premier League football next term. They are currently fourth in the table with seven games left to play.
But should they miss out on a place in the top-flight this time around, boss Steve Cooper will quickly start plotting another promotion charge for 2022/23. And the EFL have confirmed some key dates for the next campaign.
Read more: How Forest run-in compares with promotion rivals ahead of weekend double-header
Read more: Luton boss bemoans 'catastrophic' situation ahead of crunch Forest clash
The day when the fixtures come out is one supporters always look forward to. This year, the Championship fixtures for 2022/23 - in addition to those for Leagues One and Two - will be released on Thursday, June 23, at 9am.
There will be an early start to the season, as the wider football calendar accommodates the World Cup in Qatar later in the year. The EFL campaign will begin on Saturday, July 30, and will end on Saturday, May 6.
There will be a pause midway through for the World Cup. That break will run from November 12 to December 10.
Should Forest need it, the Championship play-off final will take place on Monday, May 29, 2023. The play-off finals for Leagues One and Two will take place on Sunday, May 28 and Saturday, May 27, respectively.
Meanwhile, round one of the Carabao Cup will take place in the week commencing August 10. As for the rest of the tournament, the following fixtures, excluding the final, will take place the week commencing the specified dates: Round two - 24 August, 2022; round three - 9 November, 2022; round four - 21 December, 2022; quarter-finals - 11 January, 2023; semi-final first leg - 25 January, 2023; semi-final second leg - 1 February, 2023; final - 26 February, 2023.
