In 2027, Major League Soccer will undergo a monumental shift, moving to a summer-to-spring schedule, joining major European leagues, but with that, they also have to figure out what to do between MLS Cup ending in December of 2026 and the summer of 2027, as that would be an extremely long layoff for teams and players. Spots for Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup are up for grabs depending on league standing, and to ensure that those are allocated properly, there needs to be a competition of some sort. Meet MLS Sprint Season for 2027.
Teams will play 14 regular-season matches, with seven home and seven away, from February to April. It will see teams face the others in their conference once before the top eight teams of each conference qualify for the playoffs. It’s a similar setup to the MLS is Back tournament, which was played during the 2020 season when the league returned to play a condensed season in Florida amid the COVID pandemic. There will be no interleague play until MLS Cup pits the top teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences against each other.
While this sprint season will have full travel, it’s a similar setup where it will operate more as an extended cup competition. The J-League is in the midst of their 100-year vision season before making a similar shift to MLS, but here’s how the breakdown will work for the sprint season:
2027 MLS Sprint Season by the numbers
- All teams will play 14 regular-season games.
- Each team will play its 14 conference opponents one time.
- All teams will play seven home games and seven away games in the regular season.
- The top eight teams from the Eastern Conference and the top eight teams from the Western Conference will qualify for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
- One team will be crowned MLS Cup champions.
- Five Concacaf Champions Cup berths will be determined by the 2027 MLS Sprint Season results.
- In total,18 teams will qualify for the Leagues Cup, nine from each conference.
Following the conclusion of this sprint season, the 2027-28 MLS Season will kick off in July of 2027. It will then conclude with the MLS Cup playoffs, which will run until May of 2028, similarly to when most European leagues wrap up. It’s the beginning of a new era in American soccer.
