Major League Soccer will not play during the 2026 World Cup, league commissioner Don Garber said Friday.
Speaking at his annual state of the league address ahead of Saturday’s MLS Cup in Los Angeles, Garber confirmed the league “will not be playing during the 2026 World Cup” and will also take off “for a portion” of the Club World Cup in 2025, clarifying that it would be a “specific break, not a full one.”
Garber said the league is still finalizing details for its break for the Club World Cup, which will be played in the U.S. next summer from June 15 to July 13. The MLS season typically stretches from late February through the MLS Cup final in early December. Any changes would have to be approved by the MLS board of governors, which is set to meet next week.
Two MLS teams, the Seattle Sounders and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, will play in the tournament.
The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico and will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The 48-team tournament will be hosted jointly by 16 cities across the three countries, with a record 104 games played over the course of the tournament.
MLS paused for the World Cup group stage in 2010, for two weeks in 2014 and for nine days in 2018.
Earlier during his state of the league address, Garber confirmed the league is weighing potential schedule changes which could impact what the MLS schedule looks like in 2026. The Athletic previously reported the league was weighing a move to a fall-spring calendar used by many European leagues.
“It’s important to point out that the league, in 2004 and 2005, and then again in 2014 and 2015, looked at a schedule change,” Garber said. “I think now we could be the only league, or one of only two leagues in the world that works on our schedule. But it’s complicated. We’re across three time zones, multiple weather factors, we’re traveling across a continent, and making those changes is something we’ve got to be very, very thoughtful about. I do think that we are considering, more than ever before, this opportunity to change, but it’s not something that we’re ready to talk about right now.”
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(Photo: Mike Lawrie / Getty Images)
