Strict FA rule is being scrapped for one weekend during Championship fixtures as rare loophole used

The EFL season kicks off this weekend, with all 72 teams from the Championship, League One and League Two all in action over the next four days.

The Championship clash between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers gets proceedings underway on Friday night, with the match being broadcast live on Sky Sports.

On Saturday lunchtime, there is a televised Lancashire derby clash between Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End, alongside a further three League One and two League Two matches.

Championship title favourites West Ham United travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley on Sunday at 4pm, while there is an all-Wales derby between newly-promoted Cardiff City and Wrexham on Monday evening.

Each of the 36 matches played across the three EFL divisions will all be televised live on Sky Sports, or via the red button service Sky Sports+.

That is despite many of the games being played at 3pm on Saturday - the time at which English football's TV blackout is usually enforced.

EFL's blackout explained - and why the rule has been changed

Officially, the blackout lasts between the hours of 2:45pm and 5:15pm and the rule is enforced by the Football Association (FA).

UEFA's Article 48 allows a national football association to nominate a certain amount - two-and-a-half hours - of 'blocked hours', which bans matches that are played between those times from being shown on TV.

Though those exact timings have been in place across English football for many years, the FA still have to decide on the timings at least 14 days before the domestic season gets underway before then informing UEFA.

Those hours then cannot be changed for the rest of the season, though the use of Article 48 remains in place in England until the end of the 2028/29 campaign until the situation is reviewed once again.

So why is it different this weekend?

Article 3.4 of UEFA's Article 48 states that the 'main domestic fixture schedule corresponds to the time when the majority of the weekly football in the top or top two domestic leagues or in the national cup(s) in the country are played'.

In simpler terms, the blackout is only in place if 11 of the 22 matches played across the Premier League and Championship across a single weekend are held at the same time.

Because the Premier League season hasn't started yet, and only six Championship matches are being played at 3pm on Saturday, Article 48 is effectively scrapped for the weekend and fans are free to watch whichever game they want on TV.

The Guardian reported in December of last year that the Premier League and the EFL were due to hold talks about whether to scrap the blackout altogether.

They are both said to have concluded, prior to talks, 'that selling every game is the only way to bring in more revenue'.