On Wednesday morning, the long-reported rumors became a welcome reality: Major League Soccer is making an emphatic comeback.
Sporting Kansas City and the league's 25 other clubs will venture to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida next month for the historic MLS is Back Tournament. The highly anticipated competition, which will be played without fans in attendance, provides a compelling way for MLS to resume its 25th season after competition was halted March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Everyone's really excited to be back, to be playing games, to be competing. The fact (the tournament) is on national television and all the games are going to be broadcasted, hopefully we'll have a bigger audience than normal. That's probably a cherry on top, but it's not going to change the way that we approach it," Besler said. "There's certainly going to be some responsibility on our shoulders just to put out a good product, but I don't think that would change just from the fact that we're the first league back.
"I can't say this enough: just the general excitement for our guys, the buzz that we've had around training and these news articles that come out, we're starting to interact with fans a little bit more (on) social media, just getting in touch with them again. Everything's been good so far."
Sporting captain and center back Matt Besler reacted to the momentous news this morning during his customary appearance on Sports Radio 810 WHB with Border Patrol hosts Nate Bukaty and Steven St. John. Listeners can catch the full podcast above.
Sporting learned their three group stage opponents for the historic competition this afternoon, joining Group D alongside Western Conference rivals Real Salt Lake, Colorado Rapids and Minnesota United FC.
Group stage matches will count in the MLS regular season standings and the tournament winner will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. Group stage play will begin July 8 with the tournament opener between Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF, the league announced today. The Round of 16 will run from July 25-28, followed by the Quarterfinals (July 30 – Aug. 1), Semifinals (Aug. 5-6) and Championship on Aug. 11.
The top two finishers in each of the six groups will join the four best third-place finishers in the knockout rounds, with a single-elimination bracket from the Round of 16 onward. Matches tied at the end of regulation in the knockout phase will proceed directly to a penalty kick shootout. Click here for the MLS is Back Tournament competition guidelines.
A full tournament schedule—including match dates and broadcast details—will be announced in the near term.
Upon completion of the MLS is Back Tournament, MLS plans to continue its regular season with a revised schedule in home markets, followed by the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and the 25th MLS Cup. The final number of matches and the revised schedule for the remainder of the 2020 MLS regular season will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
MLS IS BACK TOURNAMENT
- Number of Matches: 54 (39 group; 15 knockout)
- No. of matchdays: 26
- Format: Group Stage, followed by Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championship match
- Minimum Matches: 3 (per club)
- Maximum Matches: 7 (per club)
KEY DATES
- June 24: Teams begin arriving in Florida
- July 8: MLS is Back Tournament group stage begins
- July 25-28: Round of 16
- July 30- Aug. 1: Quarterfinals
- Aug. 5-6: Semifinals
- Aug. 11: MLS is Back Tournament Final
