Ahead of MLS’ 30th season, some players and coaches are “advocating for a fall-to-spring calendar, a major move that would align the league with its international counterparts,” according to Anne Peterson of the AP. It would give MLS a “more competitive position for player transfers, while also freeing up players for club duty during the summer, when many major global tournaments take place.” However, there are “obvious challenges, like the weather” during a season that begins in late February and runs through the playoffs to December. Teams such as the United and Fire “already face downright hostile weather during the winter months.” On Tuesday, when the Rapids beat LAFC in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match in Denver, temperatures “hovered in the single digits.” Peterson noted with a warming climate, “some of those midsummer games in places like Texas become difficult, too.” The current schedule allows the league to “mostly avoid the months when the NFL and the college football postseason rule.” If MLS aligned with Europe, the season would “probably open in mid-August with a break in mid-December before resuming in February” and the championship would “likely be in May” (AP, 2/19).
STILL BEING DISCUSSED: USA TODAY’s Safid Deen noted MLS is “still mulling over changing its calendar.” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said, “We don’t have a timetable for assignment. It’s clear to me that the rest of the world plays on one calendar for the most part for a reason, and it would be great as we get closer to aligning with the rest of the world. Having an adoption of the international calendar seems rational, but we’ve got a lot of mountains to climb, a lot of issues that we need to deal with. We’re dealing with those issues internally. I don’t think this should be a negative for anyone. It should be a net positive for all, and we’ve got to figure out how to make that happen” (USA TODAY, 2/20).
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The AP’s Peterson in a separate piece wrote MLS is “hoping to capitalize” as the 2026 FIFA World Cup looms. The addition of Inter Miami F Lionel Messi has “already brought new attention to MLS.” Attendance at games last season hit a league record 12.1 million, second only to the English Premier League. Five MLS teams are now valued at $1B each. MLS is in the third year of a media deal with Apple TV, but there have been “concerns about audience growth on the streaming service.” Viewership numbers have not been made available. This year Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass is available to Comcast and DirecTV subscribers -- “still at a fee but accessed via those platforms.” Season Pass is also “free for a season to T-Mobile phone service customers” (AP, 2/20).