'One of the most important decisions in our history' - MLS adopts fall-spring calendar to align with top leagues around the world

MLS has outlined a comprehensive plan for its long-rumored calendar switch. The season will kick off slightly earlier than most European leagues, but conclude around the same time of year. They will observe a brief winter break - similar to that of many leagues around the world. It is expected to align with global transfer windows as well as normal international breaks. 

As part of the change, the league will hold an abbreviated "transition season" from February to July 2027. 

MLS Commissioner Don Garber hailed it as a landmark moment for MLS. 

"The calendar shift is one of the most important decisions in our history,” said Garber. “Aligning our schedule with the world’s top leagues will strengthen our clubs’ global competitiveness, create better opportunities in the transfer market, and ensure our Audi MLS Cup Playoffs take center stage without interruption. It marks the start of a new era for our league and for soccer in North America."

A move to a global fall-spring would seem to put MLS in good standing in the global soccer landscape. The league will honor traditional transfer windows, and will no longer play through FIFA international windows. 

MLS's transfer windows currently run from January to April and July to August, while clubs have traditionally gone about league play while national teams compete. 

"It gives us a wide variety of opportunities that will expand our ability to be one of the leading leagues in the world," Garber said at a news conference Thursday evening. 

Garber admitted that the schedule change is part of a larger series of initiatives the league hopes to launch in conjunction with its "MLS 3.0" plans. Other priorities include a review of the roster rules and team spending, investment in stadia, and a revamped playoff structure. 

Some of those initiatives were considered to go into effect alongside the 2027 campaign, but league officials determined that changes might have been too drastic, Garber said Thursday. 

Part of the concern around the current MLS calendar is the time of year the playoffs are scheduled. The six-week-long postseason conflicts woth some of the biggest games in NFL and college football, as well as the World Series and start of the NBA season. 

The league believes that a new schedule would alleviate some of the competition, with playoffs and MLS Cup due to be played during the slog of the MLB season, but just before the NBA Finals, which will draw plenty of eyes in their own right. 

"We'll open our season in the middle of July, when the only active men's professional sports league at the time will be MLB," said MLS EVP Nelson Rodriguez. "It's a prime opportunity for us to open under prime conditions. We will end our season, similarly, in prime conditions, with an April run-in and May playoff that's uninterrupted by a FIFA window."