MLS Delays Decision on Calendar Overhaul for 2026 World Cup: Continued Exploration and Analysis
The ongoing debate over the Major League Soccer (MLS) calendar has been a topic of discussion among owners and executives for some time. At a recent board meeting in Chicago, they authorized a second phase of exploration into a potential move to the international soccer calendar, along with continued evaluation of the league's regular season and playoff formats. However, a decision on any potential changes has yet to be made, and it is not expected to take effect until at least the 2027 season. The "second phase of exploration" follows more than a year of research and meetings, during which league and club officials have debated overhauling the calendar to align MLS seasons with the fall-to-spring cadence that dictates most of global soccer. Many saw 2026, when the men's World Cup will come to North America, as a "perfect" opportunity to make the leap. However, they knew that if the leap were to happen in 2026, they'd need to begin modifying commercial deals, contracts, and ticket sales soon. So, they set the spring of 2025 as a rough, soft deadline. On Thursday, they essentially agreed to miss that deadline. Without consensus on the merits of the calendar change, they pushed the consequential decision - "one of the biggest decisions the league will have made in its history," according to commissioner Don Garber - until a later date. "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," Garber told reporters in Chicago. Instead of making a decision, they chose to continue the discussions and analysis. "This next phase will include additional consultation with key stakeholders and the development of a comprehensive transition plan," the league said in a statement. Until it's complete, and until further notice, MLS seasons will continue to begin in February and conclude in the fall. The status quo will remain the status quo, and the league's slow, steady, risk-averse growth will continue apace. The debate over the MLS calendar has been ongoing for some time. Executives began studying the feasibility of a calendar flip last winter, and it was not the first time they had entertained the idea. Throughout 2024, they surveyed fans and dove into data, meeting with club leaders - on both the business side and soccer side - in "pods," a few clubs at a time, to share and gather viewpoints. They found that those viewpoints run the gamut, varying by geographic region, personal ambition, and role. Among sporting directors, there is broad support for the overhaul. Most soccer-focused executives see benefits in aligning MLS transfer windows with those of top-flight soccer leagues around the world. Some of their bosses also realize that if alignment allows them to bring better players to the league, it could stimulate cyclical growth. The theory is that better players would improve the league-wide quality of play, which would raise the league’s profile, which would attract more fans, which would allow clubs to make more money - and then spend it on even better players, who’d attract even more fans, and so on. That logic has fueled the push for change among sporting directors.
