German league confirm 2020/21 Bundesliga season to start 18 September

Having originally been scheduled to begin on 21 August, the new season in Germany's top tier nows start four weeks later and should finish on 22 May, 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, 13 May 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 19-20 December and the restart on 2-3 January.

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 22-23 December.