Newly Proposed MLS Schedule Change: Positives and Negatives

By: AT

Image Credit: Frantzou Fleurine

On April 10, 2025, the Major League Soccer (MLS) Board of Governors announced that it “authorized a second phase of exploration into a potential move to the international soccer calendar (August-May of the following year).” This exploration will also include a revision of the current regular season and MLS Cup playoffs formats.

Historically, the MLS regular season began either at the end of February or in early-March, with MLS Decision Day — the final matchday of the MLS regular season — taking place around mid-October; the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs begin at the end of October, with the MLS Cup final held in early-December. Adopting the new calendar would signify that the MLS regular season, followed by the MLS Cup Playoffs, would align with the calendar of most European leagues, except for a number of leagues in the Nordic countries and the Russian Premier League.

Although the league is seriously considering these schedule changes, many supporters and pundits have criticized the potential changes, which would come into effect in 2027, at the earliest.

In this article, we offer three compelling arguments that favour and three more that oppose this significant change. Then, drawing on these arguments, we will offer our two-cents on this issue.

Benefits

Reason 1: Enhanced access to sign players from Europe’s major leagues during the summer offseason

With clubs on both sides of the pond sharing the same offseason period, MLS clubs will have more time and better access to sign players from European clubs. The European clubs may be willing sellers because they would not need to worry about losing a major player in the middle of the season; as it stands, MLS clubs can poach players from European clubs from January to March — a period that falls in the middle of a potential push to a European league or cup title.

That said, one can expect higher-profile players to potentially move to MLS, while also allowing the European club more time to fill squad gaps before — rather than during — the start of their season.

Reason 2: Less adjustment and burnout for moving players

With an increasing number of players moving from Europe, Africa or Asia to MLS, an August—May calendar would make life easier for players coming from these areas of the world for two reasons. First, they can easily adjust to a playing schedule to which they are generally accustomed. Second, these players would not finish the MLS season tired and potentially burnt-out because of an extended near-18-month calendar between two clubs. For instance, players arriving at an MLS club mid-season during the summer will play non-stop from their time of arrival until at least October, if not until November or December.

Ultimately, changing the playing calendar could facilitate the adjustment for incoming players from leagues throughout a large part of Europe, Africa, Asia, and even Central America and the Caribbean. In contrast, however, it is important to note that this calendar change would negatively affect players from some European leagues — including those in the Nordic countries and Russia — South America and the leagues in Africa and Oceania located in the Southern hemisphere.

Reason 3: Players will not be away from their clubs for an extended period due to international tournaments

Aside from the 2032 FIFA World Cup that will potentially take place in Saudi Arabia during fall or winter — similar to the World Cup played in Qatar in November—December 2022 — the newly proposed schedule would eliminate any qualms about players missing a number of matches due to major international tournaments taking place in the summer. For example, every second season, a number of notable club players take a leave of absence from their club to compete in either the CONCACAF Gold Cup or Copa América — the North American and South American championships in which a significant number of players participate.

Furthermore, a limited number of high-calibre players leave to play in the UEFA European Championship, which takes place every four years. The proposed schedule change would keep these players with their MLS clubs all season long, barring the occasional international break during which all clubs would not play matches

As a result, some clubs with a limited squad and star-power may experience a downturn that can either push the club out of a playoff race and a chance to win the MLS Cup, or significantly hamper their chances to win a major title won during the regular season. These titles include the MLS Supporters’ Shield — given to the club with the highest number of points — the U.S. Open Cup, the Canadian Championship and the Leagues Cup.

Although international tournaments in Africa, Asia and Oceania would take place during the winter portion of the provisional MLS schedule, clubs will have to contend with less losses due to a significantly smaller number of African, Asian and Oceanian players playing in the league.

Inconveniences

Reason 1: Losing the charm of a summer match

For supporters, such changes to the MLS schedule would undermine the North American tradition and exhilarating experience of attending a match on a warm summer night. While some supporters — particularly those located in the southern American cities — may be happy with escaping the near-suffocating warm humidity or intense dry heat, an overwhelming majority of supporters will need to bundle up for most the matches throughout the season. In several MLS cities, temperatures fall below 10°C during what are currently the beginning and the end of the MLS season.

This new playing calendar would force clubs playing in Canada and the northern U.S. states to play most of their matches either in freezing outdoor temperatures or in indoor stadiums. Should those clubs play indoors, it would nevertheless be inconvenient for supporters to bundle up and drop all outdoor clothes onto their seat, which is obviously not a coat hanger. Should this change materialize, expect supporters in many northern cities to kiss goodbye to a cold drink outdoors during a warm evening before, during or after a match.

Reason 2: Unplayable conditions (and matches) in certain cities

While the warm summer night experience will not longer be part of a highly anticipated matchday — to date — some clubs in the northern regions of the United States and throughout Canada would either host matches in lower-quality indoor venues, or perhaps not have the ability to accommodate any matches throughout the winter. For example, while Vancouver Whitecaps’s BC Place boasts a retractable roof, its northwestern Cascadia rivals — Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders — host matches in outdoor stadiums without a possibility of playing indoors elsewhere within those cities. While temperatures in those two cities do not fall significantly below 0°C, it will not be ideal for their supporters to attend matches in rain gear with multiple layers (imagine cold rainfalls) throughout most of the season.

Moreover, clubs based in such cities as Montréal, Toronto and the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area (home to Minnesota United) — home to three MLS venues with the coldest average temperatures — will have to play indoors, with CF Montréal playing in Stade Olympique, Toronto FC in Rogers Centre (home of the Toronto Blue Jays) and Minnesota in U.S. Bank Stadium (home of the Minnesota Vikings) as their sole alternatives. While Minnesota would play in a state-of-the-art NFL-grade venue, Montréal and Toronto would play in overly massive stadiums that contain sub-par fields and supporter stands far from the field, thereby diminishing the qualifying of the game and eroding the supporters’ connection with the players.

Worse, such clubs as Chicago Fire and New England Revolution play in outdoor NFL stadiums, which leaves them no viable alternative, at all. That said, imagine Chicago supporters trading a warm summer night of soccer alongside Lake Michigan for a winter matchday during which they experience notoriously cold and windy conditions. Supporters aside, these conditions will also degrade the playing quality and may result in an increase in major injuries.

While one could argue that National Football League (NFL) franchises play matches in cold weather conditions in such cities as Buffalo and Chicago, MLS clubs simply do not boast a fanbase remotely close to those in the NFL. Thus, several clubs will feel disproportionate pain due to lower ticket sales and revenue losses, and potentially see less big-name players coming to these markets due to less favourable weather conditions.

Reason 3: Potential loss of viewership at the expense of America’s big-four leagues

In addition to disproportionate revenue losses for several clubs during the regular season, all clubs — and the league itself — would likely lose overall revenue due to potentially lower viewership via broadcasting and matchday ticket sales during the MLS Cup Playoffs, which would simultaneously occur during the playoffs for two of the Canada—U.S. big-four leagues: the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL). While it is virtually impossible for our platform to determine the degree to which the clubs and league lose revenue — the MLS may decide to hold playoffs before the NBA and NHL playoffs — many supporters of MLS clubs will likely prioritize watching NBA and NHL playoff matches ahead of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

However, some supporters may decide to attend MLS Cup Playoffs matches ahead of NBA or NHL matches due to lower ticket prices and the availability of matches in certain cities or states. Other reasons may include certain cities boasting an MLS club that qualified for the playoffs, while their NBA or NHL counterparts did not qualify for their respective postseasons. Some cities may not have NBA or NHL franchises to begin with — consider Austin, Kansas City or San Diego.

What is certain, however, is that support for NBA and NHL clubs predates that of MLS clubs. Having attended MLS matches in Montréal and Toronto, and NHL and NBA matches in those two cities (excluding NBA in Montréal) and Boston (where New England Revolution is located), the MLS ultimately comes as an afterthought to people’s minds. It also does not help that such NHL franchises as the Boston Bruins, Montréal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, and the NBA’s Boston Celtics are among the oldest and most storied franchises in all of sports.

Our Verdict

Overall, we believe that the MLS should not change their schedule. After considering all six arguments, MLS supporters in both Canada and the U.S. — from Montréal to Vancouver and from Boston to Seattle — should be entitled to a February-December calendar in order to:

• preserve North American soccer tradition (i.e., keeping soccer a summer sport);

• prevent disruption and declining revenues for clubs, cities and the league; and

• keep MLS clubs in cities that suffer annual harsh winters.

However, we would welcome a more condensed schedule that begins closer towards April — perhaps after the March international window — and finishes in November, before that month’s international window.

AS always, comment below your thoughts and whether it may be a good or bad idea to change the MLS playing calendar.