Start date for 2022/2023 National League season announced with Chesterfield, Wrexham, Notts County, Southend United, Oldham Athletic and Scunthorpe United all involved

The National League has told the Derbyshire Times the campaign will get underway on Saturday, August 6, which is two weeks earlier than in 2021/2022.

The final day of the new season will be on Saturday, April 29.

There is no official date for when the fixtures will be announced yet but it is usually the first week of July.

There are no plans for matches to be halted because of the World Cup, but the National League will make decisions on a case-by-case basis regarding any possible disruption.

The World Cup in Qatar starts on November 21, with the final taking place on December 18.

Next season Chesterfield will come up against former Football League rivals Oldham Athletic and Scunthorpe United, who were both relegated from League Two, while they will also face National League North promoted sides Gateshead and York City and National League South champions Maidstone United and play-off winners Dorking Wanderers.

The Spireites last played Scunthorpe and Oldham in League One in 2017.

Their last meeting with Gateshead was 2019, but they have not come up against York City since a League Two battle in 2014.

They went head-to-head with Maidstone United in 2019. The fixtures against Dorking Wanderers will be the first time the two clubs have met.

The Football League season starts earlier than normal on July 30. There will be a pause in games in the Championship from November 12 before resuming on December 10, following the culmination of the World Cup group stages. League One and League Two will continue as normal.

The Premier League commences on the same date as the National League, but fixtures will be halted after the weekend of November 12-13 and will restart on Boxing Day.