MLS reveals details of 2027 'Sprint Season' ahead of calendar change

Tom Weber

• 20 Mar 2026 20:00 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Major League Soccer has revealed the details for its 2027 "Sprint Season."

Last November, MLS's Board of Governors voted to implement a seismic calendar shift. Starting next year, the league will operate on a European-style summer-spring calendar.

Currently, the MLS season runs from February to December. This means that the league's primary transfer window is open from January to March (previously until April), making it difficult to acquire high-profile players, as clubs in the rest of the world are reluctant to lose their stars mid-season.

As a result, MLS clubs often elect to make their marquee signings in the summer, when players are generally more available and when Designated Player and U22 Initiative signings have a smaller salary cap impact.

This will all change next year. To prepare for this revolutionary shift, MLS altered its transfer window dates this year, shortening the primary window and extending the secondary window in the summer to better align with the European windows.

MLS reveals Sprint Season details

When deciding on the calendar modification, MLS was faced with the question of what to do between the end of the 2026 season in December and the start of the new 2027/28 season in the summer.

While extended offseasons are not unheard of - Australia's A-League is dormant for almost five months - MLS decided to fill the empty space with a "Sprint Season" in the spring.

MLS has now announced how exactly this "fast-paced, high-stakes campaign" will function and whether it will count as a "proper" season with a real champion and qualification for international competitions.

Like the current campaign, the 2027 "Sprint Season" will kick off in February. During the regular season, there will be a balanced schedule with teams only facing their 14 intra-conference opponents once. Every team will play seven games at home and seven away.

The top eight teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs and play single-elimination matches until an Eastern Conference and Western Conference champion is determined. They will then face off in MLS Cup in May.

Despite its abbreviated nature, this MLS Cup will be the same as any other MLS Cup, and it will also have implications for continental competitions. Five teams will qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, while 18 teams will get into Leagues Cup.

After a short pause, the grind will start again in July, when the full 2027/28 season kicks off. However, players can look forward to a lengthy winter break from mid-December through early February. The campaign will then conclude with the playoffs in May 2028.

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