Major League Soccer announced a seismic shift to its playing and competition calendar, starting with the 2027 season.
In a move to align with the league schedule “with the world’s top soccer leagues,” MLS will shift to a summer-to-spring season format. The move was approved at Thursday’s Board of Governors meeting in Florida.
The current MLS season started in February and the regular season ended in mid-October, followed by the playoffs, which will conclude Dec. 6 with MLS Cup.
“Our owners made a decision that I think is one of the most important decisions in our league’s history,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said Thursday.
After next season, the 2027-28 MLS regular season will kick off in “mid-to-late” July of 2027, with the playoffs and MLS Cup being played in May of 2028. MLS will take a winter break from “mid-December through early February,” with no league matches scheduled in January.
The move could also see MLS and the MLS Players Association back at the table working toward a new collective bargaining agreement. The current one was ratified in 2021 and runs until 2027. The league said in a statement that it is “continuing to work with the MLSPA to finalize agreement on a transition plan.”
“This is an opportunity for us to eliminate the competition that we had for our playoffs as they exist today,” Garber said. “The 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 beyond this path, to be one of the top and leading leagues in the world. We’ve been working very closely with the MLSPA, we’ll continue to do that to finalize the transition plan.”
To get on track and ahead of the calendar switch, MLS will hold a “transition season” from February to May of 2027, which will feature a 14-game regular season, playoffs and MLS Cup. The results will determine the 2027 qualification for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship, Leagues Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup.
There is still work to be done, including a new regular-season and playoff format. Garber said “no final decisions have been made” on those areas.
With the new switch, the league’s playoffs and MLS Cup will no longer compete against NCAA football and the NFL. By moving the playoffs to May, the league will avoid a FIFA international window, which interrupts the current MLS playoff format.
Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said Thursday morning, before the move was finalized, that he was in favor of the calendar change.
“I think there’s a time and that it’s necessary and it’s good for the league,” Vanney said. “I hope that time is coming. A couple of things that come with is, I think it’s important that our primary (transfer) window is in line with the rest of the world’s primary window being in the summer.
“When your primary window isn’t in the window, less players are available. You end up paying higher prices to try to get those players, you’re paying more money to do the same types of things, less opportunities inside of it, all those kinds of things exist. And I think it end up actually costing the league more in the long run. In the short run, it’s probably going to be costly for everybody to make the switch, but I do think that when we get there and over time, it’s going to be valuable for everybody.”
MLS said the move comes at the end of a two-year process that took research from clubs, fans and the MLSPA.
At the July Board of Governors meeting, Garber said there was a lot to be done to get to this stage.
“Moving to the international calendar is going to be a massive game changer, especially for roster building,” Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz said. “It finally allows us to operate in sync with the global transfer market. We’ll be able to sign players when the biggest talent movement happens – in the summer – instead of midseason when integration is difficult.”
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