Major League Soccer will join other top leagues playing from Summer to Spring

Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

Last Thursday, Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors voted to align the season schedule with that of most top professional leagues worldwide. In 2027, following an abbreviated transition season, MLS will hold matches between late Summer and Spring, with a sizable winter break.

“The calendar shift is one of the most important decisions in our history,” claimed Don Garber, the Commissioner of Major League Soccer. “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 move was expected after two years of deliberation, and it’s not one that had unanimous support by teams and fans. Even with the winter break there are concerns regarding harsh weather in cold markets and the loss of some summer matchdays. There’s also the possibility that MLS finds it more difficult to compete with other major sports leagues for attention, both domestically and abroad.

Still, this is a move that primes the league for a new era of continued growth. By lining up with other leagues, MLS can take full advantage of player purchases and sales in the Summer transfer window. It also lets the league avoid conflicts with mid-Summer tournaments like the Gold Cup, though the schedule shift won’t come in time for the 2026 World Cup hosted in the US, Mexico, and Canada.

Between February and May of 2027 the league will hold a shortened 14-game season with playoffs and a MLS Cup Final. Then in mid-July the league will kick off its first season with the new format, playing until the Winter break in mid-December. Matches will resume in early February of 2028, with the regular season terminating in April and the 2027-28 playoffs in May.

What’s the benefit to the league?

First and foremost, Major League Soccer will see a drastic change in their ability to maximise both the summer and winter transfer windows. In most seasons MLS clubs have faced difficulty not only signing top talent but integrating them into their lineups. Additionally, it’s often been difficult for clubs to sell their promising young talents to bigger clubs without derailing their season. 

With the summer transfer window (usually running from June/July until early September) directly in the middle of the MLS season, it’s difficult for new signings to find their feet and mesh with their new clubs.

Now new Summer signings can participate in preseason training and Winter signees won’t need to wait months for matches to begin after leaving their clubs in the middle of an active season.

Playing from the Summer through the Spring is not out of the question and it’s something done by plenty of local soccer leagues. In the New York Metro area the American Premier Soccer League (APSL) and Cosmopolitan Soccer League (CSL) have both played along similar schedules for years, with a Fall season running from September to December and the Spring season taking place between March and June.

Despite the frigid winters, play is still possible with only a handful of postponements due to inclement weather and snow-covered fields. Some leagues even hold cup tournaments in late January and February, two months that will be avoided during the MLS season’s Winter break.

Are there any major drawbacks?

Of course the Winter weather will always be a concern, as matches are already played on snow-covered fields and sometimes in subzero temperatures. Just earlier this year, Sporting Kansas City hosted Inter Miami CF in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match in late February with temperatures under 4 degrees.

Fans of teams like Toronto, Montreal, New York/NYC, New England, and Colorado will be bracing for the effects of the schedule shift. Many of those clubs face sparse attendance in the colder parts of the current season structure and rely on Summer games to make up for the lost revenue. Now without many of those warmer weather games (especially for clubs who miss the postseason) it may lead to even worse attendance issues.

This also brings into question if the new schedule will provide an unfair advantage to teams in big southern markets such as Los Angeles, Miami, and Atlanta. It’s unclear if the league will schedule more home games for those clubs during the colder months to help avoid cancellations and sparse attendance, but if they do it could lead to some clubs going months without a single home game.

Another possible negative impact is in regards to media share and attention. With MLS competing with the NBA, NFL, NHL, and other major soccer leagues, it may limit the league’s ability to draw and keep eyes on their product. Many clubs play in markets with popular basketball, hockey, and football teams, meaning that fan focus may not fall on the soccer pitch during a majority of the season. 

For many of those fans, it’s easier to mix soccer in with a baseball season featuring well over 100 games rather than miss more pivotal matchups in other sports. How they’ll react once the schedule is updated remains to be seen, but it doesn’t bode well given MLS.

What does this mean for New York City FC?

With the schedule change coming the same year as the grand opening of Etihad Park in Queens, questions are already flying regarding what that means for the new stadium. Will there be extra efforts to provide heating? Will there be new efforts to weather-proof the facility? Will the stadium be available for the 2027 transition season or will it wait to open doors until the 2027-28 campaign later in the year?

So far the club has remained tight-lipped about the impacts to their new stadium. Still, the front office has voiced clear support of the schedule shift, noting its benefits especially in major soccer markets.

“Soccer is already seeing incredible levels of growth in North America, and aligning the League’s schedule to follow the international calendar provides us with the best opportunity to continue building off this momentum,” said New York City FC CEO Brad Sims following the league’s announcement. “Especially with the much-anticipated FIFA World Cup 26 coming next summer, followed shortly by the opening of our future home in Etihad Park, this decision could not come at a better time.”

New York City FC alluded that an official update on their new stadium’s availability for 2027 will come in the future, but it’s not likely they’d pass up an opportunity to finish completing the stadium for a full season rather than rush the finishing touches in time for an abbreviated one.

Apple TV deal drops paywall

Another piece of MLS news this past week was that Apple TV will no longer charge for the MLS season pass, dropping a paywall that limited the league’s reach during a valuable period of growth. Fans will still need an Apple TV subscription to enjoy matches, but without the extra $80 ($100 for those not subscribed to Apple TV) per year, the league will be far more accessible across the country and beyond.

This is a move that should do well to combat the competition with more popular sports throughout the MLS season, but the requirement still does limit the league’s reach beyond Apple TV subscribers. Apple has done relatively well to broadcast all Major League Soccer contests, but it’s difficult to ignore a lack of MLS presence outside of their platform. 

Hopefully with the calendar adjustment and lack of additional paywall Major League Soccer can pick up some new momentum, especially with the World Cup kicking off in 2026.