MLS owners and executives discussed potential changes to the league’s calendar once again on Thursday, but punted on making any of those changes in time for the 2026 World Cup.
Instead, at a board meeting in Chicago, they “authorized a second phase of exploration into a potential move to the international soccer calendar, along with continued evaluation of the league’s regular season and playoff formats,” MLS said in a statement. “Any potential changes would not take effect until the 2027 season at the earliest.”
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The “second phase of exploration” follows more than a year of research and meetings. League and club officials have debated overhauling the calendar to align MLS seasons with the fall-to-spring cadence that dictates most of global soccer. Many saw 2026 — when the men’s World Cup will come to North America — as a “perfect” opportunity to make the leap.
But they knew that, if the leap were going to happen in 2026, they’d need to begin restructuring commercial deals, contracts and ticket sales soon. So, they set the spring of 2025 as a rough deadline.
And on Thursday, they could not come to an agreement.
So they delayed the consequential decision. They chose, instead, to continue the discussions and analysis.
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“This next phase will include additional consultation with key stakeholders and the development of a comprehensive transition plan,” the league said in a statement.
Until then, and until further notice, MLS seasons will continue to begin in February and conclude in the fall. And the status quo will remain.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 15: General photo of the official ball before the MLS match between New York City FC and the New England Revolution at Yankee Stadium on March 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Getty Images)
(Vincent Carchietta via Getty Images)
The MLS calendar debate
MLS executives began studying the feasibility of a calendar flip last winter. It was not the first time they had entertained the idea; but this time, it gradually became clear that the appetite for change was greater than ever before. So, throughout 2024, they surveyed fans and dove into data. They met with club leaders — on the business side and soccer side — in “pods,” a few clubs at a time, to share and gather viewpoints.
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Those viewpoints ran the gamut. They vary by geographic region, ambition and role. Among sporting directors, there is broad support for the overhaul. Most soccer-focused executives se benefits in aligning MLS transfer windows with those of top-flight soccer leagues around the world.
Some of their bosses also realize that, if alignment allows them to bring better players to the league, it could stimulate cyclical growth. The theory is that better players would improve the league-wide quality of play, which would raise the league’s profile, which would attract more fans, which would allow clubs to make more money — and then spend it on even better players, who’d attract even more fans, and so on. That logic has fueled the push for change.
Among team owners and business execs, though, opinions are split or equivocal, multiple people familiar with the discussions told Yahoo Sports. Some see the long-term upside, and the value in moving the MLS playoffs out of American football season, to May, when they could get more nationwide exposure. Others worry about instant downsides, such as ticket sales that would surely decline in winter months.
That worry is particularly pronounced in northern markets. Eighteen of 30 MLS clubs play in cities where the average December high has been between 28 and 49 degrees. If they played into December, broke for January, and resumed in February, they’d have to brave frigid weather and elements. Some of their fans would probably stay home.
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And even if the league front- or back-loaded their schedules, thereby avoiding the coldest climates in the heart of winter, daily training environments are a concern.
There are also concerns about taking a two-month midseason break, which could be a “momentum killer,” as one club executive told Yahoo Sports. No major U.S. sports league has ever split its season into two such distinct and distant halves.
Proponents of change, though, point to the many interruptions baked into the current calendar. Because MLS does not align with the calendar set by FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, the North American league plays through international breaks, even with its top players absent on national team duty. It then pauses its playoffs after one round to accommodate an international break in November. “Insane,” LA Galaxy star Riqui Puig famously wrote last fall as he waited 22 days between playoff games.
For now, it will continue to do all that. And the multi-faceted debate will continue.
