Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Major League Soccer has announced that it will change its calendar to align with football's other top leagues around the world.
The news has been met mainly with praise, with fans happy to see the back of cooling breaks and 100 degree pitch side temperatures throughout the summer months. However, some have raised concerns over the possibility of snow and freezing temperatures in the north of the country disrupting the schedule. Fans in this area of the country are very passionate about their soccer, with many searching for safe casinos offering quick payouts to fill the off-season boredom.
Historically, the MLS season has begun and ended in the same calendar year, with the opening game in February and the MLS Cup final in December of the same year. This conflicts with most other major leagues in the world who begin the new season in August/September, ending in May/June.
The current set up brings a number of problems, including transfer windows and international breaks.
International breaks have been a problem for the MLS for a number of years - particularly the breaks in September, October and November. Unlike in Europe, many US club teams continue to play throughout the international break, meaning that some star players can be missing.
These 3 breaks occur not only at the end of the regular season, but also right in the middle of the MLS Cup play-offs - the exact time in the season when all teams need their star players to be fully fit and available for selection.
Teams currently have to make do with players who wouldn't usually be in the starting lineup, with some smaller squads even having to dip into their B teams to fill places on the bench. It's a great opportunity for young players, but isn't ideal for any MLS club.
Soccer in the United States is undergoing a renaissance and is constantly looking for ways to grow and evolve. It is now the third most attended sport in the US, with an average attendance of 22,111 behind only American football and baseball.
In terms of real-life popularity, it could be argued that both basketball and ice hockey are actually more popular than soccer, however the size of basketball courts and ice hockey rinks naturally limit the size of arenas that can be built to house spectators.
The MLS continues to expand with new teams being granted licences to play.
Just 20 years ago, the league consisted of only a dozen teams - the number now stands at 30 with San Diego FC the latest to join in 2025.
Some of the expansion teams have been particularly successful, both on and off the pitch. LAFC entered the league in 2018 and have won the US Open Cup, Supporters' Shield (twice) and the big one, MLS Cup. Atlanta United started out in 2017 and have won both the US Open Cup and MLS Cup, and averaged an impressive 52,000+ attendance for the first 2 seasons.
But it's not just the silverware. These expansion teams have helped raise MLS' profile and have attracted some big names to the league including Kaka (Orlando City), David Villa (New York City FC), Gareth Bale (LAFC) and of course the big ex-Barcelona contingent of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba at Inter Miami.
Whilst the league has hit its long-term goal of running 30 teams, there is still the desire to expand further with the cities of Las Vegas, Detroit and Phoenix all reportedly interested in hosting an MLS team.
Phoenix is by far the largest of these candidates with a population of over 1.6m, making it the biggest US city which doesn't have an MLS team.
Detroit and Las Vegas have similar populations of around 650,000 each, but the Vegas tourist economy might help their bid. The city has recently become the home of an NFL team with the Raiders relocating from Oakland. Vegas will also be home to a Major League Baseball team from 2028 as the Oakland Athletics will relocate there once the new $1.75bn ballpark has been completed. Maybe they should rename Las Vegas to “New Oakland".
MLS is broadcast worldwide exclusively through Apple TV. The agreement started in 2023 and runs for 10 seasons. For the first 3 seasons, a separate subscription was required to watch games on MLS Game Pass. However from the 2026 season, all games will be available as part of the core Apple TV subscription, meaning Apple TV's estimated 45 million existing worldwide subscribers will be able to watch MLS for free, as part of their existing subscription.
Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.
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