Or do you fancy popping out to watch your team on Christmas Day? Up to 60 years ago this would have been an option before Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers played out what would be the final Football League game on 25 December. Since the second league season in 1889-90, Christmas Day had been a major date on the footballing calendar. "Christmas football was originally rooted in a wider tradition of communal entertainments," Professor Martin Johnes of Swansea University told BBC Sport. "Football, pantomimes, informal gatherings, community rituals and traditions all provided people with opportunities to socialise and enjoy the day off work."

Source: BBC December 24, 2025 15:42 UTC