MLS 2027 season dates and how to watch the Sprint Season

Major League Soccer is changing its calendar, and 2027 is the bridge year. Instead of the usual 34-match season that ends in the autumn, MLS will play a short "Sprint Season" from February to May 2027. After that the league moves to a summer-to-spring schedule like Europe's. Here is what is set, what is not, and where to watch.

The Sprint Season dates, format and Apple TV details come from the league's own announcement of October 29, 2026. The league's calendar change, the 2026 season and the playoff format come from Wikipedia's season articles. Check both for any change after November 2, 2026.

Why there is a short season

For its whole history MLS has played from spring to fall. In late 2025 the league's owners voted, on November 13, to switch to a calendar that starts in the summer and ends in the spring. The stated reasons were to line up with the global transfer windows, avoid international breaks, and hold the playoffs without interruptions. The first full season on the new calendar is 2027-28. The Sprint Season fills the gap in early 2027.

The Sprint Season in numbers

14 matches per team, down from 34.
Only conference opponents. Each team plays the other teams in its own conference, seven at home and seven away. There are 30 clubs, 15 in each conference.
Regular season: February 19 to May 8, 2027. The first weekend, February 19 to 21, opens with Inter Miami against FC Cincinnati on Friday, February 19 (8 p.m. ET), and Decision Day is Saturday, May 8.
Playoffs: the top eight teams in each conference, 16 in all, in a single-elimination bracket.
MLS Cup: Memorial Day weekend, May 29 to 31, 2027. The league has not named the exact day.
What it decides: the results from the season, playoffs and MLS Cup decide who goes to the 2028 U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup.

One side effect: New York City FC's new stadium, Etihad Park, is delayed until 2027-28, so the club stays at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field for the Sprint Season.

What comes first: the rest of 2026

The 2026 season has not ended. The regular season runs to November 7 with 34 matches per team. The playoffs fill November and December, and MLS Cup 2026 is on December 18. This is the last full season on the old spring-to-fall calendar. For the playoffs, the top nine teams in each conference qualify. The two lowest seeds play a single wild-card match; round one is best-of-three; later rounds are single matches hosted by the team with the better record.

Where to watch

All MLS matches are on Apple TV. That includes the regular season, the playoffs and the Leagues Cup. The league sold its media rights to Apple in 2022 for a 10-year deal that started in 2023. For the first three seasons you needed a separate service called MLS Season Pass. In 2026 Apple folded that into the main Apple TV subscription.

Because Apple holds the rights worldwide, there are no regional blackouts. A match is on Apple TV wherever you live in the U.S. That is different from the NBA, NHL or MLB, where your home team's games depend on local rights.

In earlier seasons a small package of matches was sold to FOX to keep the league on traditional TV. We did not confirm whether that continues in 2026 or 2027, so we do not promise any broadcast-TV games.

We have no price for Apple TV in a source we can use, so we do not print one. Check Apple's own pages before you buy.

What we do not know yet

The full 2027 schedule and the opening matches.
Which matches will be free to watch.
The exact day of MLS Cup 2027.
How the 2027-28 season will be organized after the Sprint Season, beyond the move to a summer-to-spring calendar.

Note. The league can still change dates. We update the soccer hub when the league announces more.