Here's what the new soccer calendar means for RSL fans
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Real Salt Lake players warm up before a game during a snow storm in 2020. Photo: Chris Gardner/Getty Images
Real Salt Lake fans will need to bundle up for a major MLS calendar change starting in 2027.
The big picture: The season, which now runs February to October with playoffs until December, will instead start in July, with playoffs ending the following May.
- That means spectators will fill America First Field during the coldest months of winter — and visiting teams' fans can pack their skis.
Why it matters: The move will align MLS with most of world soccer, including Europe's Big Five leagues and FIFA's international calendar.
- The change takes MLS playoffs out of football season, avoids postseason-disrupting international breaks and removes a disadvantage American teams have faced in recruiting and trading international players.
Catch up quick: The league has flirted with this shift for more than a decade.
- The approaching 2026 World Cup built enough momentum for MLS owners to finally approve the shift this month.
What's next: The league will stage what it's describing as a miniature "transition season" from February to May 2027.
Plus: The calendar shift is expected to change the league's structure, The Athletic reports.
- MLS is expected to switch from an East/West split to five divisions of six teams — but the league has not announced those details.
Between the lines: A coordinated global schedule should drastically change the way MLS teams build their rosters with international players, who currently end their seasons abroad halfway through annual MLS play.
- Under the present schedule, MLS teams haven't been able to directly compete with global leagues for talent, instead signing players in winter, when top athletes may be holding out for a European offer.
- Meanwhile, U.S. teams have had to reject lucrative international offers for players they need to keep for the season to stay competitive.
What they're saying: "We are losing money on the table every summer," one MLS executive told The Athletic.
The other side: Some fans in colder markets are frustrated by the shift away from summer games, and cold-weather teams may have more away games in winter months.
Erin's thought bubble: I suffered a scary bout of heat exhaustion at the one RSL game I attended, on a fiery hot summer day.
What we're watching: MLS still needs to share specifics about the transition season, playoff format, divisional realignment and impact on competitions like Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup.

