FC Cincinnati's Pat Noonan, Houston Dynamo's Pat Onstad among those in MLS who support potential schedule change

The ability to attract transfer targets during the summer as opposed to winter is one of the biggest reasons why MLS is considering a change. The summer is the offseason for European clubs, and being able to work with a team to sell a player during that window is dramatically easier than in winter when clubs are in midseason.

"This is a difficult time of year to go get the players," Houston Dynamo GM Pat Onstad said. "As our league gets better and better, we're trying to [poach] the best players from other clubs. And if you do that in a January window, you're destroying the other club's season. So it becomes really difficult until we match up with the rest of the world.

"So from a recruitment standpoint, it's a massive. It will be a big change if we can do this as a league, it'll really help us be able to recruit the top players and bring them into our league."

Onstad also emphasized the impact the change would have relative to player fees.

"I think it'll actually help, you know, lower costs," he said. "Because if you're going after a player now in January, and the team's like, 'Well, there goes any chance of me qualifying for Europe,' you're going to have to overpay for that player. So I think for us, if we can change from a recruitment standpoint, makes a big difference."

New Chicago Fire sporting sirector and coach Gregg Berhalter generally agreed.

"I think it would be easier to be aligned with the FIFA calendar," Berhalter said. "You know, we're seeing some challenges now with teams [being] motivated to move players mid-season."

While there are some concerns about cold weather cities hosting games in December and January, there are also some challenges in playing under MLS's current schedule, as well.

"I think in Minnesota, they would say, 'Well, you kidding me, I'm going to play in the snow.' I can tell you in Houston, I don't think it's very pleasant to sit in stands in the middle of July," Onstad said. "So I think [Dynamo fans] would rather say, 'Let's have a sit in the stands right now. It's, you know, 55 degrees in Houston. It's a perfect night to go watch soccer.' So I think there's a balance."

Noonan believes the summer weather in some cities directly affects how his and others teams perform. Cincinnati was vying for the Supporters Shield following May but started to stumble in June and July when the team went 5-4-0 (W-L-T).

"Once you get into the summer months, it's unrealistic to think that these players can play at the tempo that you expect, with the heat and humidity," Noonan said. "I know the calendar was mentioned as far as switching, and I think what that does is eliminate some of the more challenging months and just a drop in intensity, you know, across the league."

A change would require both acclimation and acceptance of the broader gains.

"We're no different. We have to adapt to the climate," Noonan said. "And yes, we love to be, you know, pressing and making teams uncomfortable. You'd love to be efficient in transitions. If we think that's our strength, and I think it has been... but you also have to understand what the players are capable of in certain environments."

Winter weather, is a big factor, though. Kelvin Yeboah is one of MLS's top young stars for Minnesota United, and while he hasn't experienced the winter in the city yet due to leaving Minneapolis in the offseason, he's been monitoring the frigid temperatures.

"Just seeing on my phone minus-16, minus-20, it seems pretty hard to play football in that kind of weather, almost impossible," he said.

And that is arguably the biggest challenge for MLS as they consider this decision. Most of the league's counterparts in Europe play in more temperate climates, and the countries and aren't as large as playing across 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada. With that amount of distance comes climate diversity that a league like such as the Premier League or Ligue 1 doesn't have to deal with.

"MLS has done a great job of, you know, understanding what the United States is like," Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. "It's just bigger and it's got more diversity and climate and all of those things. And you have to take all that into consideration, because we won't be able to play in some markets during those winter months."

Still, Noonan believes the winter climate isn't prohibitive.

"We experienced a game in Chicago last year at the beginning where it was 15 degrees, 10 degrees. I'm cold, but I think once the players get going, you still saw a game with intensity and tempo," he said.

These are all aspects the league will have to factor in. Schmetzer believes if a change happens, the logical timing would be tied to the 2026 World Cup, which take place in North America during that summer. Still, the sentiment appears to be clear on the potential direction the league should lean toward.

"The shift would be astronomical," Onstad said.