2027 Major League Soccer season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Season | 2027 |
|---|---|
| Dates |
|
| Teams | 30 |
← 2026
All statistics correct as of April 28, 2026. | |
The 2027 Major League Soccer season is the upcoming 32nd season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is also the 49th overall season of a national first-division men's soccer league in the United States overseen by the United States Soccer Federation. The league has 30 clubs that are divided into the Eastern and Western conferences, each with 15 teams.
In anticipation of the schedule-flipped 2027–28 Major League Soccer season, the 2027 MLS season will use an abbreviated schedule, where teams only play fourteen matches each, and only against intra-conference opponents.
All MLS matches during the regular season and playoffs are planned to be broadcast on Apple TV, an online streaming service operated by Apple Inc.[1]
When MLS began play in 1996, they elected to follow a Spring-to-Summer schedule to avoid conflicts with the National Football League; in 1996, every MLS team played in NFL stadiums.[2][a] In late 2025, MLS owners voted to shift the MLS calendar away from the schedule they had adopted since the league began in 1996 to a Summer-to-Spring calendar to align with the top European soccer leagues.[3][4] The shift was made to help MLS teams align with global transfer windows, avoid international breaks, and hold playoffs without calendar interruptions.[4] MLS started surveying fans and owners in 2024 to gauge interest in the calendar shift, and on a vote by MLS ownership on November 13, 2025, they officially approved the calendar change.[4]
Format
On March 19th 2026, MLS announced that the 27th season would be a shortened "sprint" league from February to May 2027.[5] During the shortened season, each team will play fourteen regular season games, down from the usual thirty-four, culminating in the 2027 MLS Cup Playoffs and 2027 MLS Cup in May. Teams will play only other teams within their own conference, splitting those matches with each team playing seven games at home and seven away.[5] The top eight teams from each conference will qualify for the playoffs.[5] Results from the regular season, playoffs and MLS Cup will determine qualification for the 2028 U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship, Leagues Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup.[4]
