Christmas Day Football 2025: Full Fixture List for December 25

Christmas Day has arrived, you’ve opened your presents, and now you just want to veg out on the sofa and watch some live football.

The bad news is that the fixture list on December 25, 2025 is pretty light – at least from a European perspective.

However, if you love football so much that the thought of going completely cold turkey for one day (pardon the pun) is too much to bear, there are still a handful of professional matches taking place around the world.

There IS football on Christmas Day 2025

There are no professional fixtures in England on Christmas Day, but several overseas leagues are still in action.

The Saudi Pro League provides the highest-profile matches of the day, with three fixtures taking place. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, who are on course to break the Saudi Pro League points record this season, are not involved, having played on Christmas Eve, while fellow heavyweights Al-Hilal are next in action on Boxing Day.

Instead, Al-Ettifaq, whose squad includes Scotland defender Jack Hendry and former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, face Al-Riyadh on Christmas evening.

That match follows an earlier kick-off between Al-Fayha and Al-Hazem, while NEOM SC vs Al-Najma takes place at the same time as Al-Riyadh vs Al-Ettifaq.

Unfortunately for UK viewers, none of the Saudi Pro League matches are scheduled for live domestic broadcast, meaning highlights will likely be the only option.

Elsewhere, Christmas Day football is also taking place across parts of Africa, the Middle East and eastern Europe, including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Niger, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Myanmar.

Football fixtures on Christmas Day 2025 (UK time)

Why is there no professional football in England on Christmas Day?

While football is deeply woven into the festive calendar in England, December 25 itself has long been treated as a rest day in England — at least when it comes to competitive matches.

Many Premier League teams still train on Christmas Day. Manchester City will not be one of them this year. However, manager Pep Guardiola says he intends to check the weights of his Man City players after Christmas in case any of them eat too much.

Historically, Boxing Day – December 26 – became the traditional focus of festive football, offering full fixture lists across the Football League (and later the Premier League), with supporters able to travel and attend matches without sacrificing Christmas Day itself.

That tradition remains intact in 2025. While the Premier League schedule on Boxing Day is lighter than in previous decades — with Manchester United vs Newcastle the only top-flight game on December 26 this year — there is still a full EFL programme scheduled across the Championship, League One and League Two.

Cultural and religious traditions are also part of the reason Christmas Day has become a protected date in England. For many families it is a day built around church, meals and time at home, and the practical knock-on effects (reduced public transport, staffing and policing constraints) make staging large-scale fixtures far less appealing than using Boxing Day instead.

When was the last English league game played on December 25?

Football was once a Christmas Day staple in England, particularly during the Victorian era and the early decades of the Football League, when festive fixtures were often paired to reduce travel.

However, the tradition declined sharply during the 1950s as habits changed and the calendar evolved. Top-flight Christmas Day football had largely disappeared by the end of that decade, but a small number of lower-league fixtures continued to pop up afterwards.

The last Football League match played on Christmas Day came in 1965, when Blackpool beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2 in front of a crowd of more than 21,000. The Premier League was not established until 1992, meaning there has never been a Premier League fixture played on Christmas Day.