'Sprint Season': MLS to mutate in 2027 to 'align' with the world's top leagues

With the aim of competing both athletically and commercially with the world’s top leagues, Major League Soccer (MLS) announced a disruptive change for the 2027/2028 season. Next year, North American soccer's premier competition will adopt a novel format, with which it will vary from the current one, and which they have dubbed the "Sprint Season."

Through a communication, MLS informed that this mutation "will launch the league's transition into the new summer-to-spring calendar and schedule alignment with the world’s top soccer leagues."

A transformation that will occur the year after the FIFA World Cup 2026 in which, along with Canada and Mexico, the United States will serve as co-host.

What the "Sprint Season" will look like

Initially, the new format will only apply next year. That is, it would be the equivalent of the 2026/2027 MLS season.

Next year, each team will play a total of 14 regular-season games between February and April, each against its conference opponents in the East and West. Seven of those games will be at home, and the other seven will be away.

At the end of the first phase, the top eight teams from each conference will advance to the MLS Cup Audi 2027 Playoffs. It will be by direct elimination, i.e., a single game in each round, instead of round-robin play.

The Eastern Conference champion will face the Western Conference champion in the MLS Cup Audi 2027 MLS Cup Final, a game that will determine the name of the champion team for the 2026/2027 MLS season.

In addition, MLS will reserve five spots for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.