Photo by Ron Soliman

Major League Soccer announced on Thursday, November 13th, that club owners have voted to shift the season schedule to align with top leagues around the world. Beginning in the summer of 2027, MLS will adopt a summer-to-spring season format, among other notable changes to regular-season play. 

Most importantly, the MLS season will begin in mid-to late July 2027, and conclude with the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in late May 2028. The league will take a “midwinter break” from mid-December through early February, with no league matches played in January. The use of the phrase “league matches” in this claim suggests teams may still play friendlies, such as how the Union played midseason Slavia Prague back in January as part of its preseason trip to Marbella, Spain. 

Things will remain as-is for 2026, but MLS will play an abbreviated season from February to May 2027 to determine qualification for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship, Leagues Cup, and Concacaf Champions Cup.

MLS claims that the change will have a number of strategic benefits. League Commissioner Don Garber stated, “The calendar shift is one of the most important decisions in our history.  Aligning our schedule with the world’s top leagues will strengthen our clubs’ global competitiveness, create better opportunities in the transfer market, and ensure our Audi MLS Cup Playoffs take center stage without interruption. It marks the start of a new era for our league and for soccer in North America.”

The league claims that aligning with international breaks and the summer primary transfer window will allow teams and individual players alike to make full use of marquee signings and international windows without interrupting mid-season flow. 

There is also a plan to integrate divisions, similarly to other North American sports, in a new regular-season format. Plans for this change were not detailed in the league’s press release. 

In additional news, MLS also announced today that they are doing away with MLS Season Pass for the 2026 season, and instead, all matches will be broadcast to all Apple TV subscribers for no additional cost. MLS season ticket holders will receive a free annual subscription to Apple TV at no additional cost.