Pablo Iglesias Maurer of The Guardian dropped a big report Thursday morning, suggesting that MLS is planning an overhaul of the playoff system that would include an increase in teams and reseeding.
This new potential format is inspired by Australian rules football and would see the league ditch the two conferences in favour of a five-division setup.
This comes after the league's announcement that it would be aligning its schedule with Europe's multi-year calendar seasons.
As for the dates, the playoffs would begin in late April, with the MLS Cup happening on May 21, 2028.
The number of playoff spots would increase from the current 18 plus two wildcard spots to a full 20, with the spots given to the 20 best-performing sides across a single overall league table, rather than evenly distributing these playoff slots across the five divisions.
Eight of the 20 sides, presumably from 13th to 20th, would compete in a play-in round, with four sides advancing to create a playoff with 16 teams.
The top eight from that overall league table would compete in a double-elimination round, with the winners automatically qualifying for the quarterfinals.
While The Guardian's article does not address this directly, logic suggests the four losing sides from the double-elimination round would not be knocked out, but would instead face the winners from the matchups between the other eight ranked sides. Those four winners would then advance to the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals and MLS Cup.
Additionally, teams will be reseeded after each round, giving the higher-ranked sides an advantage by hosting their matches throughout the playoffs.
MLS has yet to make a formal decision on the future of its playoff system, stating that no final decision has been made.
"Major League Soccer is continuing to evaluate potential adjustments to its postseason format as part of a broader review of the league’s shift to a new competition calendar, beginning with the 2027-28 season. This process remains ongoing, and no determinations have been made at this time.”
- Major League Soccer in a statement to The Guardian
The proposed playoff format bears a resemblance to one previously used in the Canadian Premier League, where the winner of the first vs. second matchup would automatically advance to the final, while the loser would face the winner from the other side of the bracket.
If the format goes ahead, it would take effect in the 2027-28 season alongside the league's calendar switch.
It would mark yet another change to the playoff structure, with the current format featuring a best-of-three series in the round of 16 before reverting to single-game eliminations from the quarter-finals onward.
