Major League Soccer reportedly is contemplating a drastic change to its annual schedule following the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
MLS is discussing starting its season in early August and ending with playoffs in spring instead of going from late February to early December, Paul Tenorio of The Athletic reported on Wednesday.
Most European league start around the same time.
“We have been engaged, really, since January, and it’s been very extensive and exhaustive and deliberate,” MLS executive vice president of sporting product and competition Nelson Rodriguez told Tenorio. “It’s still too early. We’re still asking questions. We’re still collecting and analyzing some data. We’re still formulating models. Some of those models are for formats themselves, some of those models are how to assess the information that we get.”
The schedule would include a winter break of around five weeks and see the playoffs be mostly in April and May, taking it away from NFL and NCAA football but creating competition with the NHL and NBA playoffs.
The move also would prevent teams from having to make huge in-season decisions during what is normally a very busy summer transfer window. Instead, that would be the MLS off-season.
A schedule change also would allow MLS to pause the season during all FIFA international windows, like European leagues.
The obvious downside is more games in cold weather for teams like Toronto FC and CF Montreal.
