MLS Schedule Shift: Pros and Cons of Saying Goodbye to Summer Soccer | OneFootball

MLS has never had a more complicated time than it faces in the lead-up to FIFA World Cup 2026, hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Already brimming with 30 teams, the league has the marketing and soccer behemoth, Lionel Messi, alongside Inter Miami CF’s global ambitions and the league’s aspirations of becoming a premier destination for international superstars.

Yet, when the season runs, plays a critical factor in how far MLS can grow. Since its inception in 1996, MLS has been a summer league, playing from spring to fall and avoiding harsh winter climates in the U.S. and Canada.

However, MLS is exploring a move to a winter season that would see them play from fall to spring and leave the summer months without first-tier American soccer.

While discussions surrounding a schedule switch initially focused on 2026, the league’s Board of Governors opted to push any such change to 2027 at the earliest—after the World Cup.

Why MLS Should Change to a Winter Schedule

The Transfer Window and International Breaks

Marco Reus joined LA Galaxy in the summer of 2024 after a full Bundesliga season with Borussia Dortmund / Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images

Of all the reasons to switch to a winter schedule, the biggest is the increased number of opportunities for high-profile transfers. While MLS teams have not been shy about spending money, playing through the summer does not offer teams the most access to the summer transfer window, where Europe’s top leagues tend to do their roster-building.

Instead, MLS is hampered in building teams in its off-season, which clashes with the European seasons. If players sign with an MLS club after the European season and join midseason in the U.S., they go over one year without a break.

In 2025, MLS has a primary transfer window from before the season to roughly the one-third mark, allowing teams to make significant additions between Jan. 31 and April 23. However, if a team wants to add midseason, they have to wait until a window between July 21 and Aug. 5, potentially bringing in a player who has already played 50+ games and hasn’t enjoyed an offseason.

Although the transfer windows MLS deals in are dictated by U.S. Soccer and Canada Soccer, moving the season would alleviate many of those issues, opening the door for MLS teams to compete with European teams for the best summer transfers.

MLS would also be able to pause for international breaks alongside its European counterparts, unlike the current setup, which sees MLS teams play without their international stars.

Moving MLS Cup Playoffs Away from NFL and Other Leagues

Shifting to a winter schedule would allow MLS Cup to be played without competing for TV eyes with several leagues / Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the current schedule, the MLS Cup playoffs are played from October to November, clashing with the NFL, NBA, NHL, college football and basketball, and the MLB World Series, all more popular leagues to the general American sports fan.

With interest elsewhere, the MLS Cup Playoffs can struggle to garner much attention, leaving the league’s marquee games without the focus they would get in an ideal scenario. With a schedule change, however, the playoffs would be in the spring, and MLS Cup would be awarded before the focus shifts to MLB and NFL.

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The chase for the MLS Cup would also coincide with playoffs of other winter-based leagues, the NHL and NBA, two smaller competitors compared to the NFL, and the MLB’s World Series.

Why MLS shouldn’t change schedules: The Weather

16 of the 30 MLS teams are in cities that experience regular temperatures below freezing in winter. / Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Unlike many leagues in Europe, the weather for MLS squads is highly variable and challenging during the winter months.

As much as clubs in the southern United States and California may enjoy the switch and feel little difference, the same can’t be said for Minnesota, New York, Kansas City, St. Louis, Toronto, Montréal, and several other markets that experience gruelling winters.

Sixteen of the current MLS clubs are in cities that regularly have winter temperatures below freezing, and CF Montréal cannot host matches for the first several weeks of its spring season due to its cold climate.

While playing in the snow and cold is possible, getting supporters out is the primary challenge. The NFL might be able to get fans out regardless of conditions, but MLS clubs have already seen sparse crowds for cold, snowy and rainy games, all of which would be commonplace in a schedule switch.

Shifting the MLS schedule would be a formative choice for global soccer, potentially elevating the league’s profile compared to Europe’s top competitions while also shaking up the American system, which has been focused on summer soccer at every level.