If you’ve never experienced winter in Britain and Western Europe, it’s not pleasant. The regularly scheduled cold and rainy weather gets colder. It’s dark early. People would rather be indoors. That’s why the Eredivisie decides to pack it in for almost a month. There are no games from mid-December through mid-January, with all involved recognizing that the weather probably won’t cooperate. Is it really that different on the other side of the North Sea?
English tradition means the games go on, particularly around the holidays. No matter that the time difference means it gets dark even earlier and the weather is just as lousy. Back before under-soil heating, that weather would go right ahead and shut the league down. In the modern era, the games normally go on. It’s only the field getting the heat. There are no retractable roof stadiums in the Premier League and the two in the Eredivisie have no temperature controls. They close to keep the rain out. Anybody who was at the Netherlands vs USMNT friendly a few years ago might remember feeling like they were in a greenhouse. The weather normally wins in that part of the world
England insists that they’ll play through. So, it’s almost surprising that they might be reconsidering. It’s only 2016, after all.
BREAKING: @premierleague Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore confirms discussions ongoing regarding a winter break. https://t.co/aNnpf5bNqq
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) July 26, 2016
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Keir Radnedge reports that FIFA president Gianni Infantino really believes that a 40-team World Cup is the future. Inside World Football’s Paul Nicholson has the results from the Caribbean Football Union presidential election. The Jamaica Observer interviews reelected CFU president Gordon Derrick.
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