Major League Soccer will play a shortened 14-game regular season in early 2027 before the league switches to a schedule that better aligns with those of its international counterparts.
The league said Thursday that the so-called “sprint season” will run from February to May 2027, with each of the league’s 30 teams playing 14 games — seven at home and seven on the road — solely against conference opponents.
The top eight teams from each conference will advance to the single-elimination MLS Cup playoffs, culminating with a championship game between the Eastern and Western Conference champions. Five teams will qualify for the 2028 CONCACAF Champions Cup and 18 teams, nine from each conference, will qualify for the 2028 Leagues Cup based on performance during the sprint season.
The league will then turn to a 2027-28 season that kicks off in July 2027. The playoffs and league championship will be played in May 2028.
The move to a summer-to-spring calendar aims to put MLS in a more competitive position for player transfers, while also freeing up its players for national team duties during the summer, when many major international tournaments take place. The current season began in February and will wrap up with the MLS Cup final in December.
MLS owners voted last year to make the switch.
The new MLS schedule includes an extended break during the winter, with just a few games played in early December and no games in January before resuming in early to mid-February.
"This is an opportunity for us to eliminate the competition that we’ve had for our playoffs as they exist today in a very crowded time of the year," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said when the new season format was approved. “It allows us to be aligned with the international transfer windows, which we think is incredibly important. It gives us a wide variety of opportunities that will expand our ability to be on this path to be one of the top and leading leagues in the world.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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