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Details released
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Starting in 2027, Major League Soccer will align its competition calendar with the world’s top football leagues. Beginning in the summer of 2027, MLS will shift from a spring-to-fall calendar to a summer-to-spring season format, as used in Europe’s top leagues. While exact changes are still being worked out with the Major League Soccer Players Association, the league announced several decisions in a press release on Thursday.
The 2027/28 MLS regular season will kick off in mid-to-late July 2027 and conclude with the MLS Cup Playoff final in late May 2028. The new format will include a winter break from mid-December through early February. As many locations in the United States and Canada struggle with harsh winter conditions, the league will not schedule matches in January. Without a doubt, the challenges that come with a calendar switch were discussed hotly among league officials. Among the teams impacted are Toronto FC, who released the following statement as part of the announcement that the league will switch its calendar:
“Through almost two years of thoughtful discussion and consideration, the proposed changes to the MLS competition calendar and format made clear that aligning with the top leagues in the world would strengthen MLS on the pitch and position the league for continued growth,” a statement by TFC read. “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 per cent of the proposed MLS schedule staying consistent with its current format, the benefits to the future league product outweighed the potential challenges.”
Calendar switch: MLS to hold mini season in the spring of 2027
How will the transition from the spring-to-fall to the summer-to-fall calendar work in practice? To bridge the gap between the two calendars, MLS will hold a transition season from February to May 2027, featuring a 14-game regular season and the MLS Cup Playoffs. The results from that season will determine which sports will compete in the US Open Cup, Canadian Championship, Leagues Cup, and Concacaf Champions Cup.
What will the new league format look like? Although not yet finalized in conjunction with the MLSPA, a report by The Athletic stated that the plan is to move the league to a single-table format with five divisions. MLS currently plays with two conference tables. The divisions would be organized geographically, teams would play home and away against divisional rivals, and once against teams from the rest of the league.
Why is MLS moving the calendar? “The calendar shift is one of the most important decisions in our history,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said after the changes were approved at a board of governors meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier on Thursday. “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. It marks the start of a new era for our league and for soccer in North America.” Indeed, aligning the league with transfer windows of the other global leagues appeared to be the main motivating factor. The league hopes to secure more prime talent by being aligned with the top five leagues in Europe, which conduct their big business in the summer.
No more snow games? MLS Cup to align with other major competitions
Furthermore, it would allow the league to better align with the international match calendar. But more importantly, it will align the playoffs with the big knockout matches in Europe. All the major cup finals in Europe are played in May, and the same will also be true for the MLS Cup final. It will also avoid scenarios in which the league’s biggest game, the MLS Cup final, is played in a cold-weather location in late November or December. Toronto hosted the final in 2016 and 2017, and Columbus hosted it in 2020 and 2023, in winter conditions that were less than ideal for the most important game on the match calendar. Switching the schedule won’t avoid winter games, but it will improve the chances that the most important game of the season will be played under perfect conditions.
