After years of deliberation and months of more concerted debate, Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors has formally approved a historic shift of its calendar to the international fall-to-spring standard.

The change, taking effect in 2027, will see MLS abandon its existing spring-to-fall schedule after 30 years—something MLS itself is calling “one of the most significant developments in the league’s history.” The adjustment will match MLS with most of global soccer, including the Big Five European leagues of the U.K.’s Premier League, Spain’s LaLiga, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, and France’s Ligue 1. 

MLS will also be able to participate more fully in the player transfer window, and it could help boost the league’s international standing commercially and competitively, one that has the league still trailing many of its European counterparts. 

“Our owners are very committed to being one of the top leagues in the world, and being one of the few that isn’t [currently] aligned with the international calendar almost had an American exceptionalism, saying, ‘We’re going to play the game we want to play it,’ as opposed to the way the rest of the world plays it,” said MLS commissioner Don Garber following the BOG meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. “Even with an impact that could be disproportionate on one team over another, the great alignment that our teams have with each other won the day.

“There was overwhelming [club owner] support for this move. Overwhelming. Frankly, I think there was more support for this than I expected. That’s a positive, but it wasn’t necessary,” Garber said. 

The approval Thursday follows a prior decision in July to table a vote on the shift, and a more preliminary vote in April to expand its exploration of the international standard.

Details of the Shift

Among the specifics of the pending change:

• The 2027–28 season will begin in mid-to-late July 2027, and then run to late May, very similar to how the top European leagues operate. There will be a winter break stretching from mid-December until early February. 
• The adoption of the new schedule will be paired with a one-time use of a 14-game “sprint season” to bridge between the old calendar and the new one. That abbreviated transition campaign will run from February to May 2027. 
• The move still needs approval from the MLS Players Association, but dialogue with the union has been ongoing.
• The schedule shift may be paired with additional adjustments to the league’s regular-season and postseason formats. 

Unlike many other pro leagues that have a fairly unified climate, MLS has both the benefit and burden of an expensive geography that stretches across much of North America, and the league plays matches in both extreme cold and heat. 

The planned winter break helps address the former, while a summer break in the new format will account for much of the latter. MLS also said it “intends to limit the number of home matches in northern markets during December and February.”

The schedule shift also moves its top games at the end of the playoffs out from competing with college and pro football, and into a window that is instead led by mid-stage postseason competition in the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League. 

“This is an opportunity for us to eliminate the competition that we had for our playoffs, as they exist today in a very crowded time of the year,” Garber said. 

The NFL’s record seven-game international slate this season will conclude Sunday with the league’s debut contest in Spain.

The Commanders and Dolphins will square off in Madrid at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which now has a capacity of more than 83,000 after completing a $1.5 billion renovation in 2024. Miami is the designated home team; it is also one of three NFL franchises with activation rights in Spain through the league’s Global Markets Program (along with the Bears and Chiefs).

Like other international matchups this season, Sunday’s game will include a larger-than-normal halftime show, with Bizarrap and Daddy Yankee taking the stage in Madrid.

Spain is the fourth European nation to host a regular-season NFL game (along with England, Germany, and Ireland), and will likely be in line to host more in the future, as the league continues chasing its international expansion goals of one day playing 16 games per season outside the U.S.

This season’s seven games abroad are two more than the previous high of five in each of the previous three seasons:

• São Paulo: Chiefs-Chargers
• Dublin: Vikings-Steelers
• London: Vikings-Browns (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
• London: Broncos-Jets (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
• London: Rams-Jaguars (Wembley Stadium)
• Berlin: Falcons-Colts
• Madrid: Commanders-Dolphins

In 2026, the NFL will make its debut in Australia, as the Rams host a to-be-determined opponent in Melbourne. The league is also hopeful it will return to Mexico City for the first time since 2022, as renovations at Azteca Stadium will finally be completed.

Rio de Janeiro will host its first NFL game as the league plays in Brazil for a third consecutive year. Frankfurt or Munich, which have both previously hosted NFL games, will likely host Germany’s now-annual matchup (Berlin, which debuted this month, will host again in 2027).

The NFL is expected to return to Ireland after September’s successful regular-season debut at Croke Park.

There could be as many as nine games outside the U.S. next season, since the league is allowed to schedule up to eight, and the Jaguars’ annual “home” game at Wembley Stadium does not count as one of those eight.

As TGL nears the launch of its second season next month, expansion remains a priority for the indoor team golf league cofounded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

A seventh franchise will enter TGL in 2027, and the idea of eventually playing at multiple venues throughout the country is still a working goal.

For now, all matches take place at a South Florida venue that cost an estimated $50 million—after an initial build collapsed and delayed TGL’s launch by one year.

“We’ve got the amazing SoFi Center here in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It happens to be where 70 percent of the professional golfers live or have a house,” Andrew Macaulay, CTO of TGL parent company TMRW Sports, told Front Office Sports this week during the Future of Sports: Stadium Sophistication event. “So, it’s super convenient for that.”

TGL started exploring building a West Coast venue—potentially in Los Angeles—or in Las Vegas, even before the inaugural season finished, although executives have admitted any potential build is likely several years away.

“I think if you look at it over time, what could happen, different locations would certainly help in the scheduling and where the players are,” Macaulay said. “Because while they live here, they’re obviously on this amazing journey throughout the year, going from city to city. So, yeah, maybe we can meet them where they’re at.”

Despite not playing in their home markets, TGL’s teams are named after U.S. cities and metropolitan areas: Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Jupiter, Fla., Los Angeles, and New York—with Detroit claiming the 2027 expansion franchise.

“All the technology in the building allows us to [instantly] change the color schemes,” Macaulay said. “So, even though there are two different teams playing than the previous night, everything’s already changed, so it feels local.”

In the next 10 years and beyond, Macaulay envisions TGL having “multiple leagues,” which fits with the growing possibility of adding women’s golf to the league—something Los Angeles Golf Club owner Alexis Ohanian is a big proponent of.