Explained: Why MLS is planning summer break for 2026 World Cup in North America

The MLS season runs from late February to October, while the playoffs take place in November and the MLS Cup concludes in December. Now, according to ESPN, the MLS will take a break during the 2026 season - and here's why.

The report adds this break is being taken to accommodate the 2026 World Cup, which is taking place in North America. The length of the break has not been determined yet but this is being done to avoid 'incomplete rosters' throughout the competition.

Brad Pursel, the senior vice president of MLS game schedule management, said: "For the World Cup in 2026 we will take a break. MLS will pause during that competition, but the length of that break is to be determined. But given the size and scope of the 2026 World Cup, and being in North America, that is one tournament we will take a break for."

He added: "We have an ongoing dialogue with our clubs about this challenge that we face year to year during FIFA windows and international competitions, so it's something that we discuss.

"We're looking ahead to 2025, 2026, and 2027 to consider and make adjustments to our schedules so we don't lose quite as many players to these competitions that conflict with our season."

Pursel added that the Leagues Cup, a month-long competition held in the summer between MLS and Liga MX sides, will go ahead in 2026 but some tweaks may be made to allow it to go ahead.

"I don't think we'll pause Leagues Cup, but we'll have to adjust our calendar to be able to accommodate everything, and Leagues Cup is obviously a new but very exciting competition that we and our partners in Mexico want to maintain. There may even be adjustments or modifications, but it is a competition we plan to move forward with," he added.