Major League Soccer is set to undergo a significant calendar overhaul, with owners voting on Thursday to transition the league to a summer-to-spring schedule from 2027.
This strategic shift aims to bring the North American competition into closer alignment with global football, enhancing its standing on the international stage.
The move is designed to bolster MLS’s competitiveness in the player transfer market and ensure players are available for national team duties during the summer months, a period often dominated by major international tournaments.
Currently, the league commences in late February, incorporating a break for the Club World Cup over summer, with the MLS Cup final scheduled for 6 December.
The decision, made at the Board of Governors meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, will see the new calendar launch in mid-to-late July 2027.
The regular season will then conclude in April 2028, with the playoffs and championship match taking place in May.
A substantial winter break is planned, featuring only a handful of games in early December before a complete hiatus in January, resuming in early to mid-February. The league is collaborating with the Major League Soccer Players Association to finalise this transition.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber described the change as “one of the most important decisions in our league’s history” during a conference call with reporters.
He elaborated: “This is an opportunity for us to eliminate the competition that we’ve had for our playoffs as they exist today in a very crowded time of the year.
“It allows us to be aligned with the international transfer windows, which we think is incredibly important. It gives us a wide variety of opportunities that will expand our ability to be on this path to be one of the top and leading leagues in the world.”
While concerns have been raised regarding potential weather challenges during the winter months, several northern teams, such as Minnesota United and the Chicago Fire, already contend with cold and snowy conditions.
A notable example saw Real Salt Lake and LAFC play in blizzard conditions in Sandy, Utah, in March 2024.
Conversely, a warming climate has made summer matches increasingly problematic, with soaring temperatures impacting some Club World Cup fixtures last July and August.
Toronto FC acknowledged these climatic considerations in a statement following the announcement: “To be sure, the calendar change discussion also raised challenges related to the weather for a number of the league’s most northern-based teams, but we are confident in the efforts that have been made, and will remain a priority for the entire league, to address it.
“It was our view that with more than 90 percent of the proposed MLS schedule staying consistent with its current format, the benefits to the future league product outweighed the potential challenges.”
Historically, the league’s current schedule was designed not only around US geography but also to avoid clashes 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 at the start of 2027, running from February to May.
This interim period will feature 14 regular season matches per team, culminating in playoffs and an MLS Cup, with results determining qualification for the U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Further proposals, including a new playoff format and a division structure, remain under consideration.
This is not the first time MLS has explored such a shift; a European-style schedule was previously considered in 2013.
There were also earlier suggestions that owners might approve a change following the 2026 World Cup, which the United States, Canada, and Mexico will co-host, and for which MLS plans to implement a break.
