Season Timeline: How Long is the MLS Season?

How Long is the MLS Season?

There’s nothing quite like the start of a new sports season to arouse the excitement of fans. Whereas NBA and NHL fans have to wait until October for their first taste of action, NFL fans brace themselves for September each year to see their favorite teams kick off whilst MLB fans can’t hardly wait for Opening Day in March. As for MLS fans, their season begins even earlier than the four aforementioned leagues.

After a month of preseason, the MLS campaign will typically begin just a few days after Valentine’s Day – the 2024 season featured preseason matches from Jan. 19 through Feb. 17, whilst the first match of the season took place on Feb. 21 (the 2023 season kicked off on Feb. 25). This season began with a standalone match on Wednesday as Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami hosted Real Salt Lake, followed by 14 matches on the following Saturday.

The MLS regular season consists of 34 matches for each of the 29 teams, split evenly between home and away matches. The 15 teams in the Eastern Conference play a round-robin format with intra-conference teams as well as six matches against six opponents from the West.

The 14 teams in the Western Conference will play a round-robin with intra-conference teams as well as one or two additional intra-conference teams and six or seven matches against opponents in the East. Most regular-season matches will be played on Saturdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. local time.

When is the MLS Season Paused?

There are several early highlights of the MLS season such as Rivalry Week, which took place from May 11 to May 18 in 2024. These “derbies” feature various teams face off against their local rivals. The Seattle Sounders take on the Portland Timbers, the Columbus Crew take on the Seattle Sounders and so on.

However, the season grinds to a temporary halt in the final week of July as the MLS All-Star Game comes around. The best players in MLS, also known as the MLS All-Stars, will either take on a major European club like Arsenal or Juventus, or they will test their skills against the best players in Mexico’s top-flight. The 2024 edition would see MLS lose 4-1 to the Liga MX All Stars in Columbus, Ohio.

MLS teams also go on a break for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the oldest ongoing soccer competition in the United States. The 2024 edition was the first since 2011 to not feature all of the MLS teams – after initially pulling out of the competition entirely due to fixture congestion, MLS agreed to send eight MLS first teams and nine MLS Next Pro reserve teams.

With the exception of the defending champions Houston Dynamo, the eight MLS teams that qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup did not participate. The next seven highest-rated US-based clubs (based on the 2023 MLS rankings) fielded their first teams whilst the rest of the MLS clubs fielded their MLS Next Pro team – apart from D.C. United, which does not have an MLS Next Pro team.

Whilst MLS did not take a break for the Copa America, which was held in the United States from June to July, they did go on a month-long pause following the All-Star Game. The 2024 season would see MLS grind to a halt from July 25 to Aug. 23 as the league’s teams faced off against Liga MX’s teams in the month-long Leagues Cup.

MLS returns for the final week of August – Aug. 24 for the 2024 season – and continues all the way until mid-October. Decision Day, held on Oct. 19, 2024, features 14 matches with vital implications as teams look to book their ticket in the playoffs.

This is always one of the most pivotal moments of the season – time and time again, Decision Day separates the men from the boys. Although certain teams will play a different amount of games, when it comes to how many regular-season games are in MLS, the answer is simple: 34.

When Do the MLS Playoffs Begin?

After the MLS regular season draws to a close in mid-October, the postseason quickly follows with the MLS Cup Playoffs. The playoffs commence with a wild card round for the eighth and ninth-placed teams, followed by a best-of-three series that was introduced in 2023, with the higher seeded teams hosting the first match as well as the third match (if necessary).

Apart from the first round, all of the playoff matches are single-elimination fixtures that are hosted by the higher-seeded teams. Following the first round, it’s off to the Conference Semifinals, which took place on Nov. 25-26 in 2023.

The Conference Finals are typically held at the start of December – the 2023 edition took place on Dec. 2 – and one week later, the winners of each Conference face off in the final for all the marbles.

The MLS Cup host is determined by overall points in the Supporters’ Shield table. In 2023, Columbus Crew hosted the MLS Cup Final and defeated Los Angeles FC 2-1 on Dec. 9. From February to December, the MLS season always promises to be an enthralling roller coaster for any soccer fan.

As always, remember to check the latest MLS news before placing your bets!

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