Time to dig out the diaries and start planning

It is almost time for Swansea fans to start plotting journeys up and down the UK’s motorway network as Luke Williams prepares for his first full season in charge.

The road ahead for the 2024-25 English Football League (EFL) season will become clear when the fixtures are released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday.

The regular season will begin on the weekend of 10-11 August and run until 3 May, 2025.

The 46 rounds of games in the Championship will be played across 33 weekends, nine midweek programmes and four bank holidays.

Swans fans will hope for a much better start than last season, when they failed to win any of their opening seven Championship matches under Michael Duff.

A 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on 23 September finally ended the long wait for a League win, followed by three victories in a row – something of a false dawn with an autumn dip in form leading to Duff’s departure.

Williams eventually replaced Duff in January and led the Swans to a 14th-place finish after struggling to get the consistency he and the fans craved.

The former Notts County boss will hope to start the new campaign strongly after pledging to spend most of the summer at work, trying to bolster the squad rather than put his feet up and go on holiday[1].

Swansea will be joined in the Championship by relegated Premier League sides Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton along with promoted Portsmouth, Derby and Oxford.

The Wayne Rooney factor brings added intrigue – the England legend is back for his third spell managing in the EFL.

Rooney was appointed Plymouth Argyle boss after they narrowly avoided relegation last season and will hope to make a good start after his disastrous spell in charge of Birmingham City last season where he won just two of 15 matches.

All fixtures will be on the BBC Sport website and app as soon as they are announced.

The draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup will be held at 11:30 BST on Thursday.

A new GBP935m five-year deal between the EFL and Sky Sports means that 1,059 EFL matches are set to be broadcast – four times more than now.

Click here[2] for more info on what to look out for in the Championship next season.

References

1. ^ put his feet up and go on holiday (www.bbc.co.uk)
2. ^ Click here (www.bbc.co.uk)