MLS Considers Adopting European-Style League Calendar

Major League Soccer is contemplating a significant reformation of its schedule to adopt a European-style autumn-to-spring season, a transformative change that would depart from nearly half a century of tradition in North America.

In an address to reporters before Saturday’s MLS Cup championship game in Los Angeles, MLS commissioner Don Garber stated that the league is contemplating a switch “more than ever before.”

However, he warned that any potential change would come with significant challenges.

Recent reports have said MLS is exploring moving the season to an early August kick-off before taking a lengthy mid-season break and then resuming play in early February with playoffs in May.

The move would allow MLS to align itself more effectively with the global calendar while potentially giving the league’s playoffs greater visibility in US media.

Currently, the concluding phase of the MLS season competes for attention with North America’s most popular sport, the NFL, along with baseball’s World Series and the beginning of the NBA season.

A move to an autumn-spring schedule would mark a first for professional soccer in North America, which has taken place largely in summer months since the launch of MLS and its predecessor, the North American Soccer League.

Garber said on Friday that although the league had explored the idea of a schedule change multiple times in the past, officials are now reexamining the issue with renewed enthusiasm.

“I think we could be the only league or one of only two leagues in the world that works on our schedule,” Garber said.

“But it’s complicated. We’re working across three time zones and multiple weather factors. We’re traveling across a continent, and making those changes is something we’ve got to be very, very thoughtful about.

“I do think that we are considering more than ever before this opportunity to change, but it’s not something that we’re ready to talk about right now.”

Garber added that the increasingly crowded international calendar with tournaments regularly taking place in June in the middle of the MLS season had left MLS officials “digging in even deeper than we ever have in the past” on the schedule issue.

“But we’ve got a lot of work to do, and that work is ongoing,” he said.

According to sources, the discussions have extended far beyond MLS’s headquarters and have involved thorough consultations with a variety of key stakeholders in the league.

Sponsorship, Transfer, and FIFA Club World Cup

Sponsors such as Adidas and main broadcast partner Apple TV have been included in the discussions while there have been over 20 meetings with clubs and around 15 specifically with club owners.

Some MLS clubs have complained that the MLS window closing in early August made it difficult for them to secure deals for players who preferred to wait until the European window closed at the end of the month.

The league is also considering other changes, such as a possible switch to NFL-style divisions rather than simply Eastern and Western conferences.

The calendar options, along with possible adjustments on squad and salary rules, are expected to be on the agenda at Thursday’s MLS Board of Governors meeting.

Meanwhile, Garber announced that MLS would take an unspecified break next year during the FIFA Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States.

Additionally, the league will cease operations entirely for the duration of the expanded 48-team World Cup in North America in 2026.