Back
Nov 2, 2026, 12:38 PM GMT
Dan's love for sports journalism was founded through his time in sixth form. Many of his free periods consisted of sitting in the library, writing article after article, with nowhere to publish them.
Having left sixth form with As in English Language and Business, as well as a Distinction* in Digital Media, university seemed a certainty. However, he instead pursued progression at his then-full-time job and joined the GiveMeSport Academy in October 2024.
Through his time in the academy, Dan covered a wide range of sports, including boxing, MMA and golf, before graduating ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Sign in to your GiveMeSport account
Major League Soccer is about to go through the biggest shake-up in its 31-year history. Historically, the league has always run on a calendar-year schedule, but from summer 2027, it will switch to the summer-to-spring calendar used by the Premier League, La Liga and most of the world's top leagues. To bridge the gap, the league is introducing something entirely new: the 2027 sprint season.
Had MLS kept its old system, teams would have gone up to seven months without a fixture, with nothing scheduled between December 2026 and July 2027. The new 'Sprint Season' fills that hole with a short, high-stakes mini-campaign that still carries a full MLS Cup and places in continental competitions.
The sprint season is a shortened, one-off season that serves as the bridge between the old calendar and the new one. It runs from February through May 2027, including the MLS Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup, before the new summer-to-spring calendar begins in July 2027.
Each club will play 14 regular-season matches, seven at home and seven away, playing just once against each of the other 14 teams in their conference. Once the regular season ends, the top eight teams in each conference will qualify for the 2027 MLS Cup Playoffs, from which, each conference plays a single-elimination bracket to find its champion. The champions from the Eastern and Western conferences will then meet in the MLS Cup final.
Importantly, all playoff games, including the MLS Cup itself, will be hosted by the team that finished higher in the final 2027 Supporters' Shield standings, meaning that with only 14 games, every point, goal and clean sheet could decide who plays at home in the May final.
Firstly, the current season, which started in February 2026, culminates with the MLS Cup final on 18th December 2026. The league will then take a break over the winter, before the sprint season starts in February 2027. The 14-match regular season will then run until April 2027, followed by the MLS Cup playoffs and final in May.
Following a short break, the 2027/28 season will kick off roughly eight weeks later, in mid-July 2027. This season will then see the league return to the 34-match campaign it currently uses whilst adhering to the new summer-to-spring calendar.
However, unlike most major European leagues, the MLS will take a slightly longer winter break, with games stopping mid-December, before resuming in February, meaning that no games will be played in January.
One of the most obvious upsides to the adjusted schedule is that the MLS off-season will now line up with most other major leagues, and more importantly, it will lineup with the summer transfer window. This means that teams no longer have to worry about disrupting a squad, in the heart of the season, with summer transfers, and instead allows teams to plan ahead of the new season. It also means that the MLS' schedule will line up with FIFA international windows and big summer tournaments such as the Copa América and the World Cup, whilst also giving the playoffs more prominence in global football.
MLS itself has said that the calendar shift does not change its commitment to national and international cup competitions. As usual, five MLS clubs will qualify for the 2028 Concacaf Champions Cup through the sprint season, with the 2027 MLS Cup winner, 2027 Supporters' Shield winner, the regular-season winner of whichever conference didn't produce the Shield winner, and the next two best clubs in the Supporters' Shield standings all earning a spot at the tournament.
The top nine clubs from each conference will earn qualification to the 2028 Leagues Cup, whilst the three Canadian MLS clubs will all still be able to compete in the 2028 Canadian Championship.
As for the US Open Cup, details are yet to be released regarding the 2028 tournament. However, for the 2027 edition, all 27 US-based MLS clubs will enter the competition in the Round of 64 in July, and will receive hosting priority for their opening match.
Back
Top
| Privacy Statement Terms of Service Contact |
Refresh
|
All the best breaking news stories from Apex Scores Lite. Optimised for feature phones and low end Android devices, Apex Scores Lite helps users with legacy devices and poor network connectivity access the latest football news and live scores. Particularly relevant for breaking football news in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.