Major League Soccer (MLS), the US/Canadian top-flight competition, will alter its calendar from 2027 onward, moving from a February to December calendar, to a July to May format.
The MLS team owners voted to approve the changes at the board of governors meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 13, meaning the competition will now fall in line with major European domestic competitions, as well as with the global FIFA soccer calendar.
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The changes will come into effect in July 2027, with a shortened 14-game regular-season campaign (with post-season playoffs) running from February through May of that year to fill the gap between the end of the 2026 season.
MLS’ new calendar will also feature an extensive winter break in order to compensate for adverse weather conditions in northern states, featuring a limited December and February fixture list, and a complete pause in January.
Agreements on a final calendar transition plan are still subject to agreement with the MLSPA labor union.
On the change, MLS commissioner Don Garber said: “The calendar shift is one of the most important decisions in our history.
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By GlobalData"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."
This week, MLS has also altered the terms of its global broadcast partnership with Apple TV, dropping the ‘Season Pass’ paywall, meaning that AppleTV customers will be able to watch every game through their primary subscription, with no added cost.
While hundreds of matches have simulcast across both Apple TV and MLS Season Pass throughout the pair’s agreement thus far (which began in 2023), this will be the first time since its establishment that MLS Season Pass has been completely done away with.
The timing coincides with Apple TV acquiring the rights to motor racing’s elite Formula 1 series from 20226 onwards, supplementing its rights portfolio, which also includes Major League Baseball.
For MLS, this will provide a much needed growth in reach, as although broadcast interest has swelled across the 2025 campaign, there is still more to be done to maintain that trajectory over the remaining seven years of the $2.5 billion agreement to ensure that any future rights deals don’t fall short of that number and set the league back.
The move to expand MLS’ reach is also a boon for US and Canadian soccer ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the countries will jointly host alongside Mexico.
