Individual periods of these dates are commonly referred to as "international breaks".
The current dates are within five windows: in March, June, September, October, and November.
If a player participates in an official match on a different continent from his or her club's, the release period is five days.
Friendly matches are deemed less important and the release period is 48 hours.
The current dates are within six windows: in February or March, April, June or July, September, October, and November.