The League risks missing out on rising energy around the game in North America by pausing shift to fall-to-spring calendar
It was expected to happen. We were all told it was expected to happen. The signs were there, the pieces had fallen into place. You could feel it: Major League Soccer was about to take a big swing.
And then … they didn't.
Ahead of a league Board of Governors meeting Thursday, multiple outlets reported that MLS owners were going to vote on one of the biggest proposals in the league's history, switching to a long-rumored, but yet-to-be-acted on fall-spring schedule. Here was a league, now wonderfully stable but with a history of being risk-averse, about to make a change with seismic implications. Instead, the news was… there is news.
The owners agreed, in colloquial terms, to kick the can down the road.
MLS released a statement outlining it all: "Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors today authorized a second phase of exploration into a potential move to the international soccer calendar, along with a continued evaluation of the league’s regular season and playoff formats. Any potential changes would not take effect until the 2027 season at the earliest. This next phase will include additional consultation with key stakeholders and the development of a comprehensive transition plan."
The good news is that they acknowledged that the concept is still alive. An optimist, taking into account all of the noise around the league in recent months, might say that the league is just making sure everything – structurally, financially, logistically – is in place before making the shift.
After all, if there's one thing this league has learned in 30 years of existence, it's that there is value in caution, especially when continuing to expand domestically and pushing for more global relevancy.
But what is in one sense seems a prudent delay could also be considered a missed opportunity. This isn't really about what may eventually happen. Instead, MLS had an opportunity to exploit the excitement accompanying the 2026 World Cup being played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, to capitalize on the fervor for the sport that is building among fans across the country.
Instead, they played it safe.
Getty Images SportSpeculated for months
Chatter of a potential schedule change first surfaced last October, with talk of a shift coming as early as 2026. On the surface, that all made a lot of sense. Eagle-eyed observers noticed, for example, that a 2026 change would perfectly align with the World Cup, due to be held in the United States. Whether a change came in spring or the following fall was largely irrelevant.
The momentum was there, tied to the globe's biggest sporting event being held on home soil. Numerous stakeholders at MLS Media Day, just a couple of months later, suggested that under the right conditions, a new calendar could propel the league forward.
"I'm for it," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said. "I like the idea."
Others backed his suggestion, with Houston Dynamo GM Pat Onstad making the case: "From a recruitment standpoint, it's massive. It will be a big change if we can do this as a league, it'll really help us be able to recruit the top players and bring them into our league."
And momentum was palpable, with the volume of discussion suggesting that an announcement could be imminent. Coaches and GMs wouldn't speak on the record if they didn't believe the notion was legitimate.
Perhaps more important, MLS Commissioner Don Garber backed it up not long after, saying last month that there was "ongoing work" towards a new schedule.
“Let’s just be obvious – having playoffs in May is probably better than having them in December, where we’re competing against college football and NFL football and lots of other things,” Garber said at the Sports Business Journal's Business of Soccer conference. “So we’re going to do the work… Nelson Rodriguez runs our competition group meeting with owners and chief soccer officers and chief business officers going through the math. And once we get through all that, we’ll then have to take it to that process of governance and figuring out whether it makes sense for the enterprise.”
The vibes were good. And then … a deferral.
AdvertisementAFPExploiting the excitement
The primary challenge MLS faces here is how to tap into the energy around the World Cup. Exactly how big the groundswell of soccer mania will actually be in 2026 remains to be seen, but there is a widespread hope, if not expectation, that hosting a 48-team World Cup in the United States will further energize the game. News that Inter Miami and Lionel Messi have reportedly agreed to a contract extension – meaning the Argentine will likely represent his country at the World Cup next year – also helps.
But there is an inherent responsibility for all of the stakeholders around soccer to join in. If there is to be this unstoppable tide around the game, take advantage of it. That could happen in many ways. Big signings – Neymar, are you listening? – might certainly help. Or perhaps Kevin De Bruyne.
For MLS, a major challenge has always been that of legitimacy. The ultimate, final, gripe of global football enthusiasts about the league is that, for all of its improvements, it remains painfully American. Playoffs, no promotion-relegation, a salary cap – these are all founding principles of American sports. In some ways, that is just fine. It has allowed stability in the league, and guaranteed a sense of controlled expansion. It is due to those policies – although they may be restrictive – that the league is now sustainable.
Still, without risk, with limited jeopardy, the league will have a low ceiling. And if some of those tentpoles – namely, promotion-relegation – seem likely never to move, then the league has to look to other options. And a switch to what is considered a "normal" soccer calendar – at least to the vast majority of soccer teams and leagues around the world – is an significant starting point.
USLOther leagues making moves
The hesitance is made to look worse, in comparison, by the fact that others in the United States soccer space have made bold moves. MLS and USL have always insisted that they exist in separate universes. But USL, rather than running in place, is taking significant steps to doing away with that notion. In late February, they announced that they would institute a Division One league – on the same level as MLS. A promise of promotion-relegation swiftly followed. The United States has a soccer pyramid.
Of course, that didn't come without concerns. Multiple executives told GOAL that they were reluctant to make a move towards Division One, and were loathe to make statements about promotion-relegation due to the logistical questions that remained. Still, it was undoubtedly a bold move for the league – a place for the hipsters was now trying to break its way into the mainstream.
The two national teams have undergone similar processes. The USWNT hired Emma Hayes – the highest profile and best coach on the market. The Men's national team did much the same, making inquiries about Jurgen Klopp – among the best-known managers men's soccer has ever seen – before hiring Mauricio Pochettino, who has a fine resume in club soccer. Everything about it was big and ambitious.
Getty Images EntertainmentPatience might be a virtue
Yet simultaneously, it's possible to see MLS's logic here. It is likely that all of the chatter in the ether was because those in the league know that a change will happen. Garber indicated Thursday that there is a desire to move to a European calendar – it will just take some time to figure out how, exactly, it looks.
“We clearly have work to do to figure out whether or not we can move over the international calendar, and we’re not there yet,” he told . “No decision has been made, and frankly, sitting here today, I’m not sure whether or not we have all the support we need to be able to achieve that.”
The key word there is "support." It is unclear whether the commissioner is referring to the will from the owners, or the infrastructure in place to make it all happen. The former – support from those who get to vote – seems to be sealed. But the latter is admittedly tricky.
The MLS calendar currently runs from February to early December. Would the owners announce a schedule change now, play half of a 2026 season, and then move into an international calendar for the 2026-27 campaign? Could they condense a 2025-26 campaign, hurriedly throw something together after this year – and have MLS playoffs before a home World Cup? Admittedly, neither situation is ideal.