Professional soccer in the United States aligning with the rest of the world?
Major League Soccer is aligning its schedule with the rest of the world. Here’s why.
Given the league has followed its traditional winter-to-winter format since its inception, MLS commissioner Don Garber described the move as “one of the most important decisions in our history.”
Getty Images
Say it ain’t so.
However, it is with the announcement late Thursday that Major League Soccer will align its calendar beginning in summer 2027 to a traditional calendar akin to the world’s top leagues.
Typically, that timeline runs from August to May with championship dates held in May. In addition to the shift in timeline, the league also announced that the move could mean yet another change to its playoff structure, a configuration that seems to change almost annually at this point.
MLS commissioner Don Garber described the move as “one of the most important decisions in our history,” given that the league has followed a winter-to-winter format since its inception following the 1994 FIFA men’s World Cup.
“Aligning our schedule with the world’s top leagues will strengthen our clubs’ global competitiveness, create better opportunities in the transfer market, and ensure our Audi MLS Cup Playoffs take center stage without interruption,” Garber continued. “It marks the start of a new era for our league and for soccer in North America.”
To put what Garber is referring to in layman’s terms is that it will be easier for clubs to attract players from leagues around the world, who are ready to play, given they’ll be playing at the same time. Specifically, the winter transfer window has been tricky for MLS teams looking to woo players to their club when the club is not playing meaningful matches.
Additionally, the move helps mitigate FIFA’s international calendar a bit better, in which the league doesn’t have to shut down for at times for as long as two weeks to allow for players to compete for their countries.
Some other points directly from MLS on the shift in its competition calendar.
- The 2027–28 MLS regular season will kick off in mid-to-late July 2027 and conclude with the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup presented by Audi in late May 2028.
- Like many other major international leagues, MLS will observe a midwinter break from mid-December through early February, with no league matches scheduled in January.
- Before the change to the new calendar, MLS will stage a transition season from February to May 2027, featuring a 14-game regular season, playoffs, and MLS Cup. The results will determine 2027 qualification for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship, Leagues Cup, and Concacaf Champions Cup.
Garber said that collectively, owners were “in agreement in being one of the best leagues in the world,” which helped push this decision across the line, particularly Northern teams, who will now need to compete during harsh winter months. However, Garber noted the month-long break in action, but also noted that during the nearly 30-year existence of the league, MLS’s southern teams had to deal with searing end-of-summer temperatures.
Additionally, during a call shortly after MLS’s Board of Governors meeting, Garber also announced that every MLS match beginning in 2026 will be hosted on Apple TV, doing away with viewers needing to access games via MLS Season Pass, or watch select games on Apple TV+.
With Garber saying that ratings this past season with Apple’s current structure grew 30 percent, he said that “Apple is very focused on the consumer experience.”
See More:
