The soccer schedule in the United States, especially lately, is a big topic of discussion. Much of world football takes place on a fall-spring schedule, including all major European leagues and tournaments. This is why major international events like the World Cup, the Euro, the Copa América, etc. take place in summer. In order not to disrupt the club’s season.
But we don’t play on the same schedule everywhere. Some countries in the far north of Europe play from (our) spring to fall. In South America, many leagues like the Argentine Primera And Brazilian also run over our summer (their winter).
In America, our football leagues almost always run on a spring to fall schedule. There are only two notable exceptions. One was short-lived American Professional Football League, created by baseball owners in 1894 to fill stadiums during baseball’s winter offseason. The other is next USL Super Leaguea new first division women’s league which plans to start in August and be played from the fall to the following spring.
Regardless of the schedule format used, it is not ideal for everyone in the United States. With such a large geographic area and diverse weather conditions, it is impossible to take a one-size-fits-all approach.
I know how would I approach this problem if it suited me. But what do you think? Which schedule is best for American football?
Winter or summer schedule for American football? Some advantages and disadvantages
First of all, one of the main talking points of this discussion is how football overlaps and therefore must compete with other major American sports for fan (and media) interest and money ). It’s important to remember that the existing professional football season already overlaps with all major American professional and college sports. Moving the calendar would only change the parts of the seasons that would overlap, as shown below.
First, the standard American calendar of summer, or spring to fall:
Benefits:
- Avoids unplayable cold and snowy conditions for northern teams
- Avoids conflicts with the American football playoffs (professional and college), bowl games and the Super Bowl.
- The only major national professional sports competition from July to August is MLB/MiLB baseball.
- Does not overlap the middle of the NBA and NHL seasons
The inconvenients:
- Teams must play and train in the oppressive summer heat
- Rain, thunderstorms, tropical storms and sometimes hurricanes can delay or postpone matches and affect attendance.
- Conflicts with major international tournaments such as the World Cup, the Gold Cup, the Euro, the Copa América, etc.
- MLB/MiLB played every day for most of the season, and many soccer markets also offer professional baseball.
- End-of-season races for the football title, playoffs and cup finals rival the NFL and college football, as well as the start of the NBA and NHL in the fall.
And now, the reverse calendar, autumn-spring or “European”:
Benefits:
- Avoids brutal and potentially dangerous heat and rainy weather, especially in southern regions
- Avoids conflicts with major international football tournaments and summer events
- Misses most of professional baseball season
- Better aligns with international transfer windows
- Title races and other important end-of-season moments without competition from American football
The inconvenients:
- It would likely take an extended winter break to accommodate the northern teams
- Cold weather could, even with a break, affect attendance and cause match cancellations
- Overlaps with entire seasons of professional/college football, basketball, and hockey
- The title races, playoffs and cup finals would coincide with the first NBA and NHL playoffs, as well as the NCAA basketball tournament.
- Fully overlaps with other major football leagues such as Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Champions League, etc. (although most matches do not directly overlap due to time difference)
So which one to do YOU Do you think this is a better choice for American football?
This is not an easy decision to make, as both options have their pros and cons. And as noted above, with immense geography to cover, making everyone happy is next to impossible.
But let us know in the poll above and in the comments below how you would schedule the American football season.
