NEW DELHI: Commissioner Don Garber announced on Friday in Carson, California, that Major League Soccer (MLS) will suspend operations during the 2026 World Cup. The announcement came ahead of Saturday's MLS Cup final.
The league plans to halt operations partially during the Club World Cup in 2025, scheduled from June 15 to July 13, 2025, in the United States. Both the Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami are set to participate in this tournament.
Any modifications to the schedule require approval from the MLS board of governors. The expanded 2026 World Cup, featuring 48 teams, will take place from June 11 through July 19 across various cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Additionally, Garber indicated that MLS leadership is considering a complete restructuring of its spring-to-fall calendar to synchronise with other football leagues, beyond just the World Cup year.
"It's important to point out that the league, in 2004 and 2005, and then again in 2014 and 2015, looked at a schedule change," Garber said, per The Athletic.
"I think now we could be the only league, or one of only two leagues in the world that works on our schedule. But it's complicated. We're across three time zones, multiple weather factors, we're traveling across a continent, and making those changes is something we've got to be very, very thoughtful about. I do think that we are considering, more than ever before, this opportunity to change, but it's not something that we're ready to talk about right now."
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