FIFA International Match Calendar

The FIFA International Match Calendar is an outline agreement between FIFA, the six continental association football confederations, the European Club Association, and FIFPro, which sets out which dates can be used for “official” and “friendly” international matches. Individual periods of these dates are commonly referred to as “international breaks”. FIFA insists that official and friendly matches within designated breaks take precedence over domestic matches, so clubs are required to release players to go play with their national teams, while international friendlies that take place outside the designated dates do not take precedence, and clubs may retain players.