Change is coming to the MLS schedule, but nobody knows when.
It won't happen next year, or the year after that. In fact, not even MLS Commissioner Don Garber has any idea when the change will take place and exactly what form the change will take.
But it will happen.
Major League Soccer will turn the league's scheduling on its head, by co-coordinating with the FIFA calendar. If you think this means that the MLS will begin play in the late summer and finishes in the spring, you would be right. It’s only a matter of time now.
Hold on you say, how in the world are you going to play in Toronto and Montreal in January or February?
The answer is you probably won't.
Although the league itself admits it has no idea yet what form the new calendar will take, you can count on a couple of things.
There will be an extensive winter break, so mid winter games in northern climates won't be an issue. But a game on a blustery late November in Toronto, just like this year's MLS Cup final, would fall as a mid season encounter.
The league may also schedule the bulk of December and late winter matches in warm weather venues.
Nobody really knows for sure.
But where has this discussion suddenly come from?
In the past, the league has always resisted a move to conform to the FIFA calendar. Coincidence or not, FIFA will vote on the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in a couple weeks.
The U.S. is a strong contender for 2022, but FIFA always likes something in return. Remember, the Americans won the 1994 World Cup, on the condition they started a professional league.
Yes, this one which began play two years later.
FIFA has always been critical of MLS for being a summer league. Again, there's no timetable for such a seismic shift, as discussions are just beginning.
But this will happen.
