It’s official: Major League Soccer has confirmed the news first reported by The Athletic, announcing a shift to a fall-spring calendar beginning in the summer of 2027.

This marks a major change for the league, bringing its schedule in line with many of the world’s top competitions.

How will it work?

The 2027-28 MLS regular season will begin in mid-to-late July 2027 and run through late May 2028, ending with the playoffs and final. The league will also implement a winter break from mid-December to early February, with no matches played in January.

Once the 2026 MLS season ends, the league will stage a transition season from February to May 2027, featuring a 14-game regular season, playoffs, and MLS Cup. The results from this short season will determine qualification spots for the 2028 Concacaf Champions Cup.

A challenge for the Northern clubs

Playing in the winter will be an extremely tough challenge for the league’s northern clubs, particularly Canadian sides CF Montréal and Toronto FC.

The Bleu-blanc-noir can’t play at Stade Saputo between late November and mid-April, and with Stade Olympique not expected to be ready until at least 2028, hosting matches during those months will be a major challenge — if not impossible.

Toronto FC released a statement regarding the change, saying, “To be sure, the calendar change discussion also raised challenges related to the weather for a number of the league’s most northern-based teams, but we are confident in the efforts that have been made, and will remain a priority for the entire league, to address it.”

"Through almost two years of thoughtful discussion and consideration, the proposed changes to the MLS competition calendar and format made clear that aligning with the top leagues in the world would strengthen MLS on the pitch and position the league for continued growth. To be sure, the calendar change discussion also raised challenges related to the weather for a number of the league’s most northern-based teams, but we are confident in the efforts that have been made, and will remain a priority for the entire league, to address it. It was our view that with more than 90 per cent of the proposed MLS schedule staying consistent with its current format, the benefits to the future league product outweighed the potential challenges. We look forward to working with the league and our team partners to ensure that this evolution for Major League Soccer is a win for all involved, but especially our fans."

Toronto FC's statement regarding the MLS calendar change

CF Montréal has summoned the media for a press conference with club president and CEO Gabriel Gervais, scheduled for Friday morning.

Modified transfer windows

Tom Bogert of The Athletic has also reported that Major League Soccer received the green light from FIFA and Concacaf to classify the three Canadian MLS clubs as domestic, meaning they will share the transfer window with the United States’ men’s professional clubs.

As a result, the Canadian Premier League’s nine clubs will no longer share transfer window dates with the three Canadian MLS sides.