On December 26th, Boxing Day, the Premier League traditionally hosts a match day. But what is behind “Boxing Day” in the Premier League?
What is Boxing Day?
Boxing Day is celebrated primarily in the UK and is traditionally celebrated on December 26, Boxing Day. The name “Boxing Day” goes back to a “Christmas Box” that employers used to give their employees as a thank you for their efforts throughout the year. Traditionally, since the 19th century, servants were also given a Christmas Box by their nobles as a thank you for working over the Christmas period.
Boxing Day is now a kind of public holiday in many regions, where there are special offers and discounts – similar to Black Friday.
What is Boxing Day in the Premier League?
Peaky sport on public holidays – that’s how the Premier League presents its fans with Boxing Day. The origin goes back to the derby between the two oldest soccer clubs in the world: Sheffield FC and Hallam FC met in the first derby on December 26, 1860.
Soccer at Christmas appealed to the public, which meant that a few decades later the league also introduced top-class sport on Christmas Day, as the matches there always attracted a lot of attention.
Until 1965, matches were even played on December 25 and therefore on Christmas Day, but since then the English league has decided to schedule matches on December 26.
Since then, real top matches have been deliberately scheduled for Boxing Day, attracting millions of viewers worldwide and filling stadiums to this day.
Curiosities on Boxing Day: Goal Festival, Corona and Christmas Eve
A Boxing Day for the history books took place in 1963, when 66 goals were scored in ten matches in the First Division, the top division at the time. Ipswich Town’s 10-1 win over Fulham FC stood out, with Graham Leggat scoring the fastest hat-trick in league history within four minutes.
The importance of Boxing Day for the Premier League also became clear in the 2021/2022 season, when numerous clubs had to deal with coronavirus cases. Three games had to be postponed to the new year, but the officials went ahead with the matchday with six games on December 26.
As is well known, the Premier League fixture list is already rumpled with countless different kick-off times and days, and since the 2023/24 season this has also affected the matchday around Boxing Day: for the first time in 28 years, a game will be played on Christmas Eve. The match between Wolves and Chelsea FC, originally scheduled for December 23, will not take place until a day later on December 24 (2 p.m.) due to a broadcasting issue. The last time this happened was in 1995 between Leeds United and Manchester United (1:3). There is still one game left from the previous matchday, while the ball will then rest again on December 25, five games will take place on Boxing Day, three a day later and another two on Thursday, December 28.
Record holder Kane
There are plenty of long-serving Boxing Day participants, mostly players who have played for the same club for many years. The top scorer is Harry Kane with ten goals on Boxing Day. This is the first time in over ten years that he has been allowed to spend Boxing Day without playing soccer. He is followed by a number of Premier League greats, including Thierry Henry (seven goals), Alan Shearer (8), Robbie Keane (8) and Robbie Fowler (9).
