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The calendar change is MLS attempting to reposition itself despite impact on existing fans

The calendar change is MLS attempting to reposition itself despite impact on existing fans

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Major League Soccer has voted through one of the big changes in its history in an attempt to take on Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues.

By Graham Ruthven

There is no Major League Soccer franchise in Palm Beach, but it was the location for one of the most consequential moments in the league’s 29-year history last week. It was here that the MLS board of governors met to vote through a flipping of the league’s calendar. From 2027, MLS will be aligned with Europe’s best leagues.

While the American top division (which includes three clubs from Canada) currently plays from February to December, MLS will shift to a new schedule which kicks off in July and finishes in May. There will be a long winter break in December and January and a new divisional structure to equalise the fixture list for every team. There’s a lot to unpack.

All this has been done in the belief that aligning the schedule with Europe’s best leagues will help MLS attract better players. The summer transfer window currently lands smack bang in the middle of the MLS regular season, making it difficult for teams to integrate new signings. The calendar shift will change this.

It will also help MLS become a better selling league. This might seem counter-productive to the league’s intention to improve, but MLS would benefit from becoming a springboard. If talented youngsters believe there is a viable pathway to the Premier League or another ‘Big Five’ league through MLS, they are more likely to consider it a viable destination.

However, the decision to change the schedule will only matter if MLS backs it up by restructuring its overly complicated and restrictive roster rules. Now is the time to take off the shackles. What is the point in flipping the calendar to attract better players if the league’s regulations continue to prevent that from happening?

Messi with the 2025 MLS Golden Boot

“Every team should have the opportunity to bring in players and sign whoever each team wants – without limitations or rules for players to bring them in,” said Lionel Messi in a recent interview. “I don’t think that today all teams in the United States, all clubs, have the power to do that, and I think that if they were given the freedom, many more important players would come and help the growth of the United States.”

Even if teams are given the freedom to sign better players, this improvement could come at a cost for some of MLS’s clubs in cold weather markets. Minnesota United, for example, won’t play a home game from mid-November until March in the new schedule. After that, a season’s worth of home fixtures will be crammed in over the summer months.

This is a fundamental reframing of priorities for a league that has achieved remarkable success as a local product. MLS ranks eighth in the world for average attendance per match. It boasts vibrant fanbases in places like Minnesota, Cincinnati, Colorado, Utah, Toronto and other places that will be hit hard by the calendar change.

Minnesota United’s first ever MLS match, May 2017

Fans are being asked to make a short-term sacrifice in the hope there will be a macro benefit to the league in the long-term. It is therefore understandable that some supporters feel their views have been ignored by the owners and decision-makers that took part in last week’s vote.

MLS could have implemented this in a better way. That the calendar change is happening in 2027 and not in 2026 when the USA will co-host the World Cup is baffling. MLS knew for eight years that the biggest tournament in football was coming and did nothing to capitalise on this until it was too late.

Some of the messaging from the league has also failed to acknowledge the true impact the new schedule will have on some clubs and their supporters. While it’s true MLS will play matches in mostly the same months, as the league has been keen to stress, the cadence of fixtures and when they are played will be very different.

If, however, MLS is to become one of the best leagues in the world, as is its stated aim, this change probably had to happen at some point. Teams won’t have to play through international breaks without their best players any more. The playoffs won’t clash with the NFL season and World Series in future years. 

From 2027, the playoffs won’t be interrupted by an international window as is currently the case. Fewer games will be played in brutal summer heat in places like Dallas and Miami. All things considered, the league is probably doing the right thing for the future. And yet by making these changes, MLS will lose a lot of what made it MLS. What made it different.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the MLS Cup playoffs on FotMob this season – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

The calendar change is MLS attempting to reposition itself despite impact on existing fans

Major League Soccer has voted through one of the big changes in its history in an attempt to take on Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues.

By Graham Ruthven

There is no Major League Soccer franchise in Palm Beach, but it was the location for one of the most consequential moments in the league’s 29-year history last week. It was here that the MLS board of governors met to vote through a flipping of the league’s calendar. From 2027, MLS will be aligned with Europe’s best leagues.

While the American top division (which includes three clubs from Canada) currently plays from February to December, MLS will shift to a new schedule which kicks off in July and finishes in May. There will be a long winter break in December and January and a new divisional structure to equalise the fixture list for every team. There’s a lot to unpack.

All this has been done in the belief that aligning the schedule with Europe’s best leagues will help MLS attract better players. The summer transfer window currently lands smack bang in the middle of the MLS regular season, making it difficult for teams to integrate new signings. The calendar shift will change this.

It will also help MLS become a better selling league. This might seem counter-productive to the league’s intention to improve, but MLS would benefit from becoming a springboard. If talented youngsters believe there is a viable pathway to the Premier League or another ‘Big Five’ league through MLS, they are more likely to consider it a viable destination.

However, the decision to change the schedule will only matter if MLS backs it up by restructuring its overly complicated and restrictive roster rules. Now is the time to take off the shackles. What is the point in flipping the calendar to attract better players if the league’s regulations continue to prevent that from happening?

Messi with the 2025 MLS Golden Boot

“Every team should have the opportunity to bring in players and sign whoever each team wants – without limitations or rules for players to bring them in,” said Lionel Messi in a recent interview. “I don’t think that today all teams in the United States, all clubs, have the power to do that, and I think that if they were given the freedom, many more important players would come and help the growth of the United States.”

Even if teams are given the freedom to sign better players, this improvement could come at a cost for some of MLS’s clubs in cold weather markets. Minnesota United, for example, won’t play a home game from mid-November until March in the new schedule. After that, a season’s worth of home fixtures will be crammed in over the summer months.

This is a fundamental reframing of priorities for a league that has achieved remarkable success as a local product. MLS ranks eighth in the world for average attendance per match. It boasts vibrant fanbases in places like Minnesota, Cincinnati, Colorado, Utah, Toronto and other places that will be hit hard by the calendar change.

Minnesota United’s first ever MLS match, May 2017

Fans are being asked to make a short-term sacrifice in the hope there will be a macro benefit to the league in the long-term. It is therefore understandable that some supporters feel their views have been ignored by the owners and decision-makers that took part in last week’s vote.

MLS could have implemented this in a better way. That the calendar change is happening in 2027 and not in 2026 when the USA will co-host the World Cup is baffling. MLS knew for eight years that the biggest tournament in football was coming and did nothing to capitalise on this until it was too late.

Some of the messaging from the league has also failed to acknowledge the true impact the new schedule will have on some clubs and their supporters. While it’s true MLS will play matches in mostly the same months, as the league has been keen to stress, the cadence of fixtures and when they are played will be very different.

If, however, MLS is to become one of the best leagues in the world, as is its stated aim, this change probably had to happen at some point. Teams won’t have to play through international breaks without their best players any more. The playoffs won’t clash with the NFL season and World Series in future years. 

From 2027, the playoffs won’t be interrupted by an international window as is currently the case. Fewer games will be played in brutal summer heat in places like Dallas and Miami. All things considered, the league is probably doing the right thing for the future. And yet by making these changes, MLS will lose a lot of what made it MLS. What made it different.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the MLS Cup playoffs on FotMob this season – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.