The Islamic Holy month of Ramadan is here and given the occasion, the Premier League as well as the English Football League (EFL) will carry on with the Ramadan break that will allow Muslim players to break their fasts while a match is being played.
The Premier League will allow the Muslim players playing in the league to break their fast during an ongoing match, as will the EFL. Ramadan breaks in football matches is not an age-old practice but was just introduced in 2021 to accommodate the cultural practices of Muslim footballs.
Muslim players in a team can consult with the match referee and pause a match for sometime when the player can eat some food and drink some liquids, thus breaking their fast.
For Ramadan, fasts are broken at sunset, known as the Iftar. The month of Ramadan will be observed from February 17, to March 18, 2026 in the United Kingdom.
The upcoming weekend will therefore see players of Islamic faith breaking their fast with a mini mid-match iftar. The Premiere League has two fixtures during the time of sunset, West Ham United vs Bournemouth on Saturday evening and Tottenham vs Arsenal on Sunday.
All these clubs have Muslim players in their teams who might keep their fast. The players are El Hadji Malick Diouf (West Ham United), Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth), Djed Spence (Tottenham) and William Saliba (Arsenal).
Ramadan breaks were first granted in 2021 when Leicester player Wesley Fofana and Crystal Palace footballer Cheikhou Kouyate broke their fast with permission and had their Iftar meal at sunset, while their teams had a match going on. Muslims players had since expressed their gratitude to the Premiere League and welcomes this inclusive change.
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