MLS to Introduce Double-Elimination Playoff Format in 2028

Major League Soccer (MLS) is planning a significant overhaul of its playoff format, with a potential debut in 2028 alongside the league’s shift to a fall-to-spring schedule. According to multiple league and club sources, the changes could include a ‘double-elimination’ component and feature as many as 20 teams.

The proposed format would pair with long-reported changes to MLS’s regular season, with the league going to a five-division setup in place of its current Eastern and Western Conference structure. Notably, the 20 potential spots wouldn’t necessarily be evenly distributed among the league’s divisions; instead, all teams would be combined into a single table at season’s end, with the overall 20 best teams advancing to the postseason.

Double-Elimination Round and Reseeding

The top eight teams in the combined table would play in a double-elimination round, a move aimed at further incentivizing the league’s regular season matches. A win in that initial round would see a team through directly to the quarter-finals. Teams would be re-seeded after each round, ensuring that higher-seeded teams are offered a competitive and hosting advantage throughout the playoffs.

This unique approach mirrors that of the Australian Football League (AFL), the elite level of Australian rules football. The league has had discussions with the AFL about its playoff approach, according to a source.

A Brief History of MLS’s Playoff Format

MLS has altered its playoff format many times during its history. In the league’s infancy, eight of its 10 teams qualified for the postseason, which featured a best-of-three format for the conference semi-finals and finals. The format was tweaked again in 2000 and later altered as teams were added and conferences realigned, moving to two-legged matchups in 2003.

In 2019, MLS streamlined things, moving to a single-elimination format. However, when the league began its current media rights deal with Apple TV in 2023, the league sought to add more matches to its postseason and introduced its current format, a mishmash of best-of-three and single-elimination matches, and also a ‘play-in’ match between the eighth- and ninth-place teams in each conference.

At the time, the league had considered other options, including a ‘World Cup-style’ format, which would have seen teams navigate a group stage before advancing to a single-elimination component. The proposed changes to the playoff format would pair with fundamental changes to the league’s roster regulations and the shift to a fall-to-spring schedule.

MLS is in the midst of reorganizing itself after this summer’s World Cup. The league has named Los Angeles FC co-owner Larry Berg as its new commissioner, with Berg set to take the reins from Don Garber next year.