MLS has long been derided for its schedule. While most of the world takes the summer off, mainly to allow for players to compete in various international tournaments, the North American league is trudging through its midseason.
Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger Voices Support For MLS-Like EPL Schedule
This creates all kinds of conflicts, not the least of which is competing with the World Cup. FIFA President Sepp Blatter even voiced his preference that MLS move to the world’s schedule during a meeting with President Barack Obama. That prompted MLS Commissioner Don Garber to express a willingness to explore the possibility of MLS playing a split schedule, similar to the Mexican Primera League.
Of course, this was all before Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup, and the possibility of playing a winter World Cup was seriously considered. It was also before the cancellation of a spate of EPL games due to heavy winter weather. Suddenly, the MLS schedule is not looking so bad, and none other than Arsenal's Arsene Wegner has noticed.
The longtime Arsenal manager recently suggested that the EPL should at least consider adopting a February to November schedule. He also voiced support for a winter World Cup in 2022.
“That [the heat in Qatar] is a big problem,” said Wenger. “They have spoken about maybe having the World Cup in the winter. Why not? I’m not against that at all.
“But I think overall, in the whole world, football should be played between February and November, and then you could organise it for winter.”
The logic with a February to March schedule is hard to deny, at least from the perspective of Northern Hemisphere professional leagues. The weather during that period is obviously much more conducive to outside activity. The problem, obviously, is coordinating international competitions and Southern Hemisphere leagues.
There might not be a perfect solution, unfortunately. With weather patterns being what they are, this doesn’t seem to be a problem with an obvious answer. But it certainly doesn’t give MLS any positive motivation to explore a drastic change to its schedule.
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