Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said he expects Major League Soccer will soon agree to align with the international soccer calendar, with more discussions set to take place this summer.
In contrast to most international league, MLS currently employs a February to November calendar. As a result, the league’s primary transfer window runs from January 31 to April 23, while the main transfer window in the major European leagues occurs in the summer, impacting MLS clubs’ ability to take part in the global transfer market.
MLS announced in April that the league will explore a switch to a fall/spring calendar as early as 2027, as well as possible changes to the format of the regular season and playoffs
“I fully expect that in the summer meeting we will decide to move a path forward to align with the FIFA calendar, which I think brings our league to a significant level of disadvantage today with the windows,” Mas told ESPN this week.
“Now, the main summer windows are in the middle of our season. If we’re able to do that, I think that we will have the advantages of being able to participate much more aggressively in the transfer windows, both incoming and outgoing. I think that’s the first step.”
Mas insists that the move to an international calendar and flexibility on roster regulations could push MLS to be able to better compete with top leagues from around the world.
“The second step has to do with roster flexibility and the ability to be able to expand rosters,” he said. “One, would I like to see the ability to be able to spend more money? Yes, but that has to be a function also of our league revenue and the revenue of teams. We’re being very successful here with what we’ve been doing with Inter Miami. All of the teams in the league are able to benefit from increased revenues.
“We’ve been able to show that increased eyes on our league, you know, and that will eventually have to be reflected in media values. Roster flexibility is something that we’ve worked on and will continue to work on in order to allow us to have deeper rosters.
“The difference between our teams and some of the teams that we face in international competitions is not necessarily our starting 11, but when you go to the bench and you bring in is the difference between our starters and our subs who are coming in to make an impact that is different.
If that gap is reduced so we’re able to bring deeper rosters — rosters that are 14, 15, 16 deep instead of 10, 11, 12, 13 — our teams will be better. So I think those are some mechanisms that we can utilize to strengthen the league.”
Former Inter Miami manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino and current head coach Javier Mascherano both expressed a similar thought when competing in the Concacaf Champions Cup, emphasizing the league’s disadvantage against Liga MX clubs. Martino notably cited the league’s strict roster rules and the difficulty in building a deep roster when being eliminated from the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals by CF Monterrey.
Now, Inter Miami’s limited depth may become a matter of concern when competing in the 2025 Club World Cup. The Herons will face Egypt’s Al Ahly, Portuguese giants FC Porto and Palmeiras of Brazil in the group stage in hopes to qualify for the knockout rounds.
“We face Al Ahly next Saturday at Hard Rock, who are the champions in Egypt. For us, it’s a big challenge. We also have Porto and Palmeiras in the group. Our aspiration is to make it out of the group stage. Then go step by step”
Inter Miami will open the tournament at Hard Rock Stadium on June 14 when confronting Al Ahly.
