Bundesliga's 2020-21 season set to begin on September 18

Bundesliga's 2020/21 season will begin on September 18, 2020 and end on May 22, 2021, the German Football League (DFL) announced on Friday. The new season hence starts a month later than the start date of the 2019/20 season.

The German Cup, on the other hand, will begin on September 30, 2020.

The May 22 finish for the league allows enough time for the players to prepare for the postponed Euro 2020 which begins on June 11, 2021. The DFL said that there will be a winter break after the 13th matchday of the league (December 18-21) and the subsequent second round of the German Cup (December 22/23, 2020).

"The two semi-finals of the DFB Cup are scheduled for the first weekend in May, but these two dates are still subject to the last pending coordination talks," said the DFB's statement.

"In the event of a postponement, the 30th matchday of the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga (Tuesday, April 20 to Thursday, April 22) would be affected and would also have to be postponed.

"When planning for the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, numerous aspects had to be taken into account, in addition to the dates of the DFB Cup, and above all the other rounds of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League from the current 2019/20 season, which will be held in August, as well as the encounters of both competitions in the coming season."

The DFL also said that the schedule of the new league season will be announced shortly.