Bundesliga 2020-21 season kicks off Sept. 18, includes reduced winter break

Berlin, July 10, 2020 (AFP) - The German league confirmed Friday that the 2020-21 Bundesliga season will start on September 18 with the traditional January winter break shrunk to a fortnight amid a string of changes forced by the coronavirus pandemic.

Having originally been scheduled to begin on August 21, the new season in Germany's top tier nows start four weeks later and should finish on May 22, three weeks before the European Championships is due to start.

The German Cup final, which traditionally ends the season in Germany, is planned for Thursday, May 13 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, a week before the league season finishes.

The Bundesliga winter break has also been halved, from four weeks last season, to just a fortnight with the last round of league matches in 2020 played on the weekend of December 19-20 and the restart on January 2-3.

German fans will be able to watch football right up until Christmas with the second round of cup games due to be held in mid-week on December 22 and 23.