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Major League Soccer The league is set to undergo a significant calendar overhaul, with owners voting Thursday to switch the league to a summer-spring schedule starting in 2027.
The purpose of this strategic shift is to bring North American competition closer in line with global football, thereby enhancing its standing on the international stage.
The move is designed to increase MLS’s competitiveness in the player transfer market and ensure that players are available for national team duties during the summer months, a period often dominated by major international tournaments.
Currently, the league starts in late February, including a break. club world cup In the summer, the MLS Cup Final is scheduled for December 6.
The decision, taken at the Board of Governors meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, will see the new calendar launched in mid-to-late July 2027.
The regular season will then conclude in April 2028, with the playoffs and championship matches taking place in May.
A larger winter break is planned, with only a few games taking place in early December before a full break in January, resuming in early to mid February. The league is cooperating with the Major League football The Players Association will finalize this change.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber called the change “one of the most important decisions in the history of our league” during a conference call with reporters.
He explained: “It’s an opportunity for us to eliminate the competition that we had for the playoffs as they exist today at a very crowded time of the year.
“It allows us to engage with the international transfer window, which we consider incredibly important. It provides us with a range of opportunities that will expand our ability to continue on this path to becoming one of the top and leading leagues in the world.”
While concerns have been raised about potential weather challenges during the winter months, several northern teams such as Minnesota United and Chicago Fire are already struggling with cold and snowy conditions.
A notable example saw Real Salt Lake and LAFC playing in blizzard conditions in Sandy, Utah in March 2024.
Conversely, the hot climate has made summer matches more problematic, with rising temperatures affecting some Club World Cup fixtures last July and August.
Toronto FC acknowledged these climate-related considerations in a statement following the announcement: “Certainly, the calendar change discussion has also raised weather-related challenges for many of the league’s northern-based teams, but we are confident in the efforts made, and addressing this will remain a priority for the entire league.
“It was our view that with more than 90 percent of the proposed MLS schedule remaining consistent with its current format, the benefits of a future league product outweigh the potential challenges.”
Historically, the league’s current schedule was not only designed around American geography, but also to avoid conflict with the peak seasons of American sports such as the NFL, NBA, and NHL.
To facilitate the transition, MLS will introduce an abbreviated “Sprint” season beginning in 2027, running from February to May.
This interim period will consist of 14 regular season matches per team, culminating in playoffs and an MLS Cup, the results of which will determine qualification for the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Other proposals are under consideration, including a new playoff format and division structure.
This is not the first time MLS has explored such a change; The European-style program was first considered in 2013.
There were earlier suggestions that owners might approve a change after the 2026 World Cup, which the United States, Canada and Mexico will co-host, and for which MLS plans to implement a break.