Major League Soccer’s 2026 season will be the last to run a full season that begins in the winter.

The league’s Board of Governors approved a change Thursday that will move the league to a summer-to-spring schedule, in line with most of the world’s top soccer leagues, beginning in 2027. The new schedule is expected to see the regular season begin in July, culminating in the playoffs during May. Breaks are expected to align with the FIFA international match calendar, and also include a winter break during December. As part of the transition, a mini-season of 14 games will take place from February to May 2027, which will also determine which American teams advance to various tournaments including the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup.

St Louis City SC president Diego Gigliani calls the calendar change part of MLS’ drive to evolve and improve, saying that the alignment with the world’s top leagues would, “not just increase the league’s international credibility, it also will enable us to further grow our TV audiences by moving our playoffs to May and improve our ability to attract and retain players by aligning the transfer windows.”  Giglianai also noted concerns about more games taking place in colder weather, saying that thoughtful scheduling decisions will minimize the impact on fan experience.