MLS to push for vote to align schedule with European calendar this week
Don Garber has been clear about his intention to change the MLS season calendar and launch "MLS 3.0". Can he whip the votes in time to use the World Cup as a platform?
Major League Soccer has an opportunity this week to change the future of its league and the sport in this country by voting to adopt the European fall-to-spring schedule.
On his digital show, famed American soccer player-turned-pundit-turned-coach-turned-pundit Eric Wynalda said MLS owners (technically the “MLS Board of Governors”) are meeting this week to discuss the future of the league and potentially vote on upcoming changes — one of which could be the aforementioned schedule change. Wynalda pleaded on his show for owners to push through the change as early as possible.
“I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again. Get on the international schedule,” Wynalda said. “Next year is the year to do it. I know that the guys are meeting all week this week, meaning the ownership groups for Major League Soccer, to make a decision on what kind of schedule we’re going to have next year. It looks like they’re leaning towards doing the international schedule. And by God, I hope they do.”
Where do things stand?
The topic of changing MLS’s schedule has been bandied about for years. It seemed to come to a head earlier this year in April when the BoG met, but the proposal never came to a vote due to lack of support from the requisite amount of clubs. It’s unclear exactly how many clubs are required to vote in favor of a proposed schedule change in order to take effect, but the prevailing notion is that the more valuable and/or warmer weather clubs are in favor.
MLS commissioner Don Garber has long led the charge to whip votes for a schedule change to point the league in the direction of what he calls “MLS 3.0,” which he outlined in comments at this summer’s All-Star Game.
“We’re not making any announcements today, but we continue to do an enormous amount of work with our fans, with our partners, with all of our chief soccer officers and with our clubs, to get ourselves closer to the point where we’re able to make that decision,” Garber said. “But we believe that alignment [with the European league calendar] is something that makes sense.”
What would a change to align with the European calendar look like in the United States and Canada? The Sports Business Journal reported in April, “the proposed schedule shift would see the league begin its regular season in late July or early August, play through mid-December, take a roughly five-week winter break through the beginning of February and conclude the season in late May or early June.” In addition, the league would attempt to modify its fixtures to avoid the coldest-weather cities as much as possible during the winter months of December and February.
When would a change take place?
Voting to change a schedule is one thing. Implementing said schedule by adjusting all the moving pieces and satisfying various stakeholders is another. The SBJ reported in April that time was running out to change the schedule in time for 2026 to satisfy business partners and marketing contracts that had been signed under a certain pretense. Given that we’re seven months beyond that point now with preseason training dates and scheduling already in motion, 2027 seems like the most realistic launch of the new calendar.
In addition to changing the schedule, Garber’s vision of “MLS 3.0” includes simplification of the league’s roster rules and changes to the league’s regular-season and playoff formats, according to the SBJ. All of these changes will require getting the Players Association on board and re-working the established collective bargaining agreement accordingly. The current CBA in place is set to expire in January of 2028.
Are the players on board?
While there will always be challenges to work through when attempting this kind of restructuring in so many areas, there seems to be a core alignment in Garber’s aims with what players desire. Multiple players who’ve spoken to Five Stripe Final have urged for the league to simplify its spending rules. Domestic players in particular feel they are not necessarily competing on level ground for salary dollars with foreign players. MLS earmarks certain monies for designations that tend to favor foreign players such as the Designated Player rule, Targeted Allocation Money and U-22 spots. Working this out in the CBA line-by-line will obviously be a tedious task, but it seems that Garber and the Players Association have some alignment in what MLS should look like in the future.
In addition, there are personal and professional reasons why many players would prefer MLS to be aligned with the European calendar. Having coordinated transfer windows will allow players to move more seamlessly between teams without the disruption of the most active summer market occurring in the middle of MLS playoff races. Traditionally, European-based players arriving to MLS clubs ahead of a new season in January will have already played half of a season, meaning those players tend to play 18 months or more consecutively before a break.
In his statements at the All-Star Game in July, Garber called the intended changes “seismic.” They’re also necessary for the survival of the league in the long term, and the sooner they get on with it, the better it will be for everyone involved.
Curious to hear yall’s thoughts on whether this is the right move for the league or not!