Friday 9 January 2015 06:46, UK
The Premier League has announced that the 2015-16 competition will begin on August 8.
The season will be followed directly by the European Championship, and the Premier League's move to bring forward opening day could allow England manager Roy Hodgson additional time to prepare his side, should they qualify for the tournament.
In a short Twitter posting, the Premier League stated: "The 2015/16 #BPL season will kick off on Saturday 8 August".
The date for the final day of the season has yet to be announced.
It will not be the earliest start to a Premier League campaign, with that remaining the August 7 opening day of the 1999-2000 season.
