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Could Major League Soccer make the switch to a Fall-Spring schedule that would align with the rest of the world? It’s a genuine consideration, and one that would spell disaster for a league that is currently growing at an exponential rate.
“We continue to evaluate the potential for a transition to the FIFA International Match calendar,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told members of the media ahead of the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday night.
“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 we’re able to make that decision. But we believe that that alignment is something that makes sense.”
When Would Major League Soccer Begin Playing A Fall-Spring Schedule
While Garber says that everything is on the table, and sounds like someone who is interested in a change, it doesn’t sound as if anything is imminent.
“If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen after the 2026 World Cup. So making this change is seismic. It’s not something we should do lightly.
“We obviously have teams across multiple climate zones, multiple time zones, unlike any other league in the world. So I would rather get it right and take our time than get it wrong and do it quickly, because life’s a long time when it comes to something like your schedule.”
Why Would A Fall-Spring Schedule Be A Problem For Major League Soccer
The current MLS schedule runs from March through potentially early December. That alone causes problems due to the various climates across U.S. and Candian cities, as Garber hinted at. The current setup also means that the league’s offseason does not line up with the major European summer transfer window, so it can be difficult to attract star players.
But the alternative presents a significantly worse option.
Major League Soccer currently has 30 teams. Of those 30 teams, three play in Canada, and at least seven more play in markets that are known to get harsh winters. While it’s not impossible to play matches in the cold, snow is an entirely different topic.
Playing a soccer match in Toronto, Chicago, Denver, or many more in the winter months is nearly impossible. Even if you could play games, attendance for those matches would be a disaster. It’s just not a feasible options and it would be a massive detriment to clubs in northern markets.
What Options Does That Leave The League?
For one, Major League Soccer could keep its current schedule. Does it have some flaws? Yes. Are those flaws worse than the ones that would come with a Fall-Spring setup? Absolutely not.
But Garber also talked about breaking the season into two separate competitions, similar to what takes place in Mexico’s Liga MX.
“It’s too early to talk about that [possibility of divisions or a Clausura/Apertura structure],” Garber said. “We’ve got a really exciting format that will be ready to present once we go through all the formalities of it and we’ll talk about that sometime either before or at the end of the year press conference, but it’ll be great.
“And it’s gonna make the regular season more meaningful. It’ll be more aligned with the rest of the world in terms of how they play their competition.”
Ultimately, the league has several options at its disposal. But the best one may well be to keep with the status quo.