On November 13, 2025, the MLS Board of Governors voted to change the league’s schedule to closer match the European leagues, starting the 2027-28 season in July and ending with MLS Cup in May. The reasoning behind the move is to align transfer windows, with MLS moving away from playing in the middle of summer and instead having a midseason break from mid-December until early February. The announcement wasn’t a surprise, with plenty of indicators that the league was considering the change in calendar.
Major League Soccer has already announced that they will play what they’re calling a “transition season” beginning in February and running through May. Given the short amount of time, the regular season will be 14 games to determine the playoff field.
In the league’s list of reasons for the move, they included transfers and player signings, alignment with the FIFA calendar, and moving the MLS playoffs away from cold weather months.
