Starting with the Major League Soccer sprint season in 2027 and continuing with the league’s new permanent, July-to-May calendar afterward, the MLS Cup Playoffs will be played in May in perpetuity after this year.
And if the league wants to try establish itself in the broader American and global sports consciousness, it should make the decision to stage every MLS Cup final from here forward on Memorial Day, or at least every time when the international calendar allows.
Here are five reasons it would be a great step forward for MLS and American soccer.
1. It (Mostly) Works With The FIFA Calendar
This isn’t guaranteed to continue in perpetuity, but since the start of the 2026 World Cup cycle, FIFA’s international calendar has allowed competitive club play through the weekend following Memorial Day. That will also be the case in three of the next four years (the exception being in 2028).
When that occurs, MLS would be able to stage its final on Memorial Day and still provide sufficient recovery time for any players to appear in the Concacaf Champions Cup final, which usually falls on the following weekend. And given the increasing influence of American commerce on FIFA, if MLS established the tradition of playing its final on the final Monday of May long term, it seems likely FIFA would continue with a match calendar that permits it through the 2034 World Cup Cyle and beyond.
2. It Establishes American Identity
The league still hasn’t established itself as a major professional sport among most casual American sports fans. Embracing one of the country’s most patriotic holidays could change that.
Getting fans to associate MLS with Memorial Day would subtly link the league with a day that helps define American culture. Over time, that could help move the placement of the league from fringe to mainstream interest. And we’ve seen plenty of evidence from the first three decades of MLS that fans will show up on similar holidays – July 4 in particular.
3. There’s Not Much Competition
Despite being a holiday that most 9-to-5 employees have off, there isn’t a ton of competition for sports visibility on Memorial Day. There are NHL and NBA Playoff games in the evening, and Indy 500 the day before, but little on the afternoon itself.
Currently, the highest-profile annual sporting event on the Memorial Day itinerary is the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacross Championship, an event that has grown in popularity but still resonates primarily in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. There are also regular season Major League Baseball games, but that’s no different than any other day in the Spring.
4. It Would Work For Domestic TV
If you look at Monday’s network TV schedule, most over-the-air networks have only local programming, and those that don’t have run-of-the-mill soap operas or game shows typically associated with weekdays that aren’t holidays.
Presuming MLS partners with FOX or another lineal TV network beyond its current four-year lineal rights deal that expires at the end of this year, a Memorial Day final should be an easy discussion for networks that wouldn’t have other competing interests that day.
5. It Would Work Even Better For Foreign TV
And although domestic numbers might be lower on a holiday than a typical weekend day, the ability to resonate with European TV audiences in particular could more than make up for it.
An afternoon Memorial Day kickoff could coincide with a primetime Monday night for European viewers, and stand separate from major domestic European leagues which this year also concluded on the Saturday and Sunday prior to Memorial Day.
