United States men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino welcomed Major League Soccer’s decision to realign its schedule to match the global soccer calendar, calling the move a critical step to increase the league’s competitiveness and strengthen the national team system.
MLS will move to a fall-spring schedule starting in 2027, ending decades of operating under a spring-fall format that often put the league out of sync with FIFA international windows, transfer cycles and global competitions.
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For Pochettino, who has coached extensively in Europe and now runs the U.S. program, the change is both expected and transformative.
“It’s certainly a big step forward for MLS to be on par with the best leagues in the world,” Pochettino said.
“Having managed club teams and now the US national team, the ability to align with the international schedule will have a huge positive impact for players, coaches and clubs.”
Pochettino noted that the realignment would streamline national team camps and reduce the long-standing conflict between MLS matches and key FIFA dates, which has often limited access to domestic players or forced clubs to compete without a significant portion of their squad.
The benefits, he stressed, also extend to the long-term development of the federation. “This also extends beyond the senior national teams; it will allow us to have access to younger national team players during critical periods of international competition, thereby advancing their development.”
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For American soccer, the schedule change promises to tighten the connection between domestic league play and international requirements, ensuring that MLS-based players are better prepared for the pace of tournament play and the standards of competition abroad.
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