MLS The board of governors voted to change the league's schedule to more closely align with the European calendar, with seasons starting in late summer and ending in spring.
The league announced the change after a board meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday. The league will begin the season in mid-July, take a winter break in mid-December, and then resume play in the first or third week of February (avoiding Super Bowl week).
“Shifting the calendar is one of the most important decisions in our history,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “Aligning our schedule with the world's leading leagues will strengthen the global competitiveness of our clubs, create better opportunities in the transfer market and ensure that our Audi MLS Cup Playoffs remain firmly in the spotlight. This marks the start of a new era for our league and soccer in North America.”
The change will take place in 2027, with the league playing a short season at the start of the year before beginning its first full season under the new format in July.
The change of calendar will be accompanied by a major change to the league format, including one that will be more similar to European leagues. 30 MLS teams will now compete in one table. This is the first time the league will be structured this way after spending most of its history in the Western and Eastern conferences.
The single bracket will also feature five six-team regional divisions, with teams playing each division opponent twice (home and away) and every other league team once, maintaining the league's current 34-game regular season.
Qualification for the playoffs will be based on the overall league standings, with division winners guaranteed a spot in the postseason.
The decision will end the schedule MLS has maintained since it first played in 1996, in which the season begins in the spring or late winter and ends in the fall, playing through the end of the summer.
after promoting the newsletter
The schedule was originally structured this way, in part due to harsh winters in much of the US, and the later addition of Canadian teams Toronto FC, CF Montreal and the Vancouver Whitecaps added value to the summer dates (even though the Vancouver stadium has a retractable roof). The current calendar also gives MLS less competition for much of the regular season in a crowded clubhouse. sports USA scenery. Among the country's largest men's sports leagues, the NFL, NBA and NHL play from fall through spring. Because MLS plays throughout the summer, the only MLS competition among the major men's leagues for most of the regular season is Major League Baseball.
However, there are significant downsides to this arrangement, which have become particularly problematic for the league as it seeks to become a more active player in the global transfer market.
The MLS offseason currently falls in the middle of the European league season, with most teams doing only limited transfer business in January. This makes it difficult for MLS teams to add star players in a way that allows those players to have a full preseason with their teams. It also makes it more difficult for MLS teams to sell players abroad for the amount they want at a time when it won't impact the current season.
Similar issues arise in the summer, with MLS teams reluctant to sell desired players overseas in the middle of a league campaign, and new players arriving in the middle of an MLS league campaign with no pre-season training.
“If they don't do it, there's no logical thinking,” Columbus Crew coach Wilfried Nancy told reporters Thursday. “If you don't make changes, you can talk and talk and talk – it's impossible for people abroad to take us seriously.”
Switching the calendar also allows MLS to play its most important games—the end of the regular season, the playoffs and the MLS Cup—in a period relatively free of disruption. In the current MLS playoff format, the postseason is interrupted by FIFA's international window, with the games themselves competing for attention alongside the NFL, college football, NBA and NHL season starts, and the occasional World Series.
The MLS Cup is typically held in late November or December, a time of year when much of the country experiences freezing temperatures. After 2027, it will be held in May – probably in relatively good weather.
