MLS reveals details of its 2027 ‘sprint’ season | OneFootball

As part of its transition towards the international calendar, MLS will play a shortened season in 2027, consisting of only 14 regular season rounds, in addition to the 'playoffs', which will be named 'Sprint Season', as detailed by the North American league this Thursday.

MLS had already announced last November that it would hold this season lasting only four months, from February to May, before later transitioning to a format that runs from summer to spring (in the northern hemisphere), aligned with the major leagues of the world.

Consequently, starting from the 2027–2028 season, MLS will begin in July and crown its champion at the end of May. Before that, the 'Sprint Season' will offer a rapid-fire championship in which the 30 teams will face each of their 14 conference rivals during a regular season that will extend from February to April.

The top eight teams from both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference will advance to the 'playoffs', which will feature single-elimination games until the final in May.

This transformation will occur one year after the United States hosts the World Cup for the second time in its history, now alongside Canada and Mexico, an event on which hopes are pinned for 'soccer' to grow in popularity in the North American giant.

The change in the calendar, among other repercussions, will allow the MLS transfer window to align with the international market.

Thus, teams will have more opportunities to buy and sell players without these transactions impacting their rosters mid-season.

In the current MLS format, which is holding its 31st season this year, the championship runs uninterrupted for almost 10 months, from the start of the regular season at the end of February until early December. Inter Miami, featuring Lionel Messi, is the current champion.

*With content from AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.