MLS plans major playoff overhaul: double-elimination, reseeding and 20 teams
Quick summary
Major League Soccer is planning a significant overhaul of its playoff format, potentially introducing double-elimination rounds, reseeding, and expanding the field to 20 teams.
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Attributed to original sourceFormat would resemble that of Australian rules football
League will ditch conferences for five-division setup
Major League Soccer is planning a significant overhaul of its playoff format, multiple league and club sources told the Guardian this week. The changes, which would debut in 2028 alongside the league’s shift to a fall-to-spring schedule, could include a “double-elimination” component and see as many as 20 teams feature. Sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the league’s plans.
The Guardian has viewed a potential schedule for the new format, in which the playoffs start in late April and unfold over roughly three weeks with MLS Cup being played on Sunday 21 May 2028. The changes to the playoff 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.
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What happened
According to The Guardian, MLS is weighing a sweeping restructuring of its postseason format. The proposed changes would see the playoff field grow to 20 teams and introduce a double-elimination structure in the early rounds, giving lower-seeded clubs a second chance after a loss. Reseeding would also be added, allowing matchups to be reconfigured after each round rather than maintaining a fixed bracket. The moves reflect MLS's continued growth and its effort to keep more clubs meaningfully engaged deep into the season.
Chance analysis
Expanding the postseason to 20 teams and adopting a double-elimination format would mark the most significant structural shift in MLS playoff history. The change rewards regular-season depth over a narrow bracket and gives second chances to clubs that stumble early, which tends to keep fan bases engaged deeper into the autumn. Reseeding further tilts the format toward meritocracy, ensuring the bracket rewards form rather than early-round luck. For players and coaches, the practical consequence is a longer, more grueling postseason where squad depth becomes as important as star quality.
A restructured MLS postseason would lengthen the playoff calendar, reduce single-match knockout variance and raise the importance of squad depth for clubs advancing deep into November.