There are many fans across the globe who dismiss the MLS as a lesser league, but there are plenty more in North America who are well aware that the MLS gets better with each passing season. Like the rest of the soccer world, the league was forced to shut its doors in March, but unlike the rest of the world, the MLS season was just beginning, with only 2 weeks of play on the books. With soccer leagues around the world returning to action, it was expected that the MLS would soon follow suit. That is exactly what they have done, but there are still some questions to be answered regarding how things will look. Let’s take a closer look at the MLS and their COVID-19 status so you can start planning ahead your bets against our MLS odds.
MLS COVID-19 Status & Return Date
MLS Pandemic Timeline
We were just 2 weeks into the new MLS season when the league was forced to suspend play on March 12. In the months that have passed since then, the league has been busy behind the scenes, but they have done very little in the way of updating fans. Instead, we were treated to a bout of rumors, some of which have proven to be true, but more about that in a moment.
It was a few weeks ago that players were told they could return to training facilities for individual workouts, but there was still no word on when things might move beyond that point. We now have a lot more details to share, although things are still rather unknown in terms of how the remainder of the season will play out, which we will discuss in the next section.
MLS Format for the Remainder of the Season
One of the rumors that came out during the lockdown is that the league would move to a tournament format, with all teams playing their games in Orlando, Florida. The initial idea was for a 5-game round robin group stage followed by a knockout tournament. The players voted that idea down, looking instead for a 3-game setup and a change to the current CBA, which has now been agreed to. Players have now been given the green light to return to full training.
Part of the issue moving forward is that some states are still basically in lockdown, which is why the Orlando tournament is coming first. The points picked up in the group games in that tournament will count towards the overall standings. When a team is eliminated from the tournament, they will immediately return to their home base. What happens after that is still up in the air at the moment, but this should give the league some time to formulate a plan for the rest of the regular season and beyond.
This is a very fluid situation at the moment, so while there are no specific dates yet to be announced, the fact that the players are now in full training suggests that the resumption of play is surely only a matter of a 2-4 weeks away.