MLS prepares for drastic schedule change

The MLS schedule has long been a talking point, especially given its misalignment with the calendars of Europe’s major leagues – an issue that complicates player transfers, among other things. But a change may be on the horizon. Major League Soccer is moving closer to adopting a calendar that mirrors those used across the footballing world, as commissioner Don Garber made clear on Wednesday during the MLS All-Star Game, which ended in a win for the Stars and Stripes.

The league is now seriously weighing a dramatic shift in its season structure. While the proposal still needs to be approved by club presidents, Garber has already floated 2027 as a potential launch date. Currently, the MLS season kicks off in February and wraps up in December.

“We’re not making any announcements today,” Garber told reporters, “but we continue to work closely with our fans, our partners, all our sporting directors, and our clubs to get to a place where we can make that decision. We believe that alignment makes a lot of sense.”

He emphasized that any such move would be monumental for the league. “Making this change would be seismic,” he said. “It’s not something we should take lightly. Obviously, we have teams spread across multiple climate zones, multiple time zones – unlike any other league in the world. And if we make the change, we won’t be going back.”

One of the primary motivations behind the shift is to improve the league’s standing in the global transfer market. “We want to align with the calendar to participate more fully in the player transfer market,” Garber explained. “By the end of this year, we could hit $150 million in player sales. Compare that to where we were just a few years ago. Imagine what that number could be when we’re aligned with the international calendar.”

Weather, too, is a growing concern. “It’s getting hotter,” he said. “And that’s clearly a problem when you’re playing through the core of the summer months in many of our markets. We need to make the decision that best prepares us for the future. How do we build a calendar that minimizes the impact of extreme cold or heat? And how do we do that across as many markets as possible? How do we manage the calendar to reduce that impact as much as we can? We have ideas and ways to make it happen.”

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