MLS won’t return before June 8 due to coronavirus pandemic

The Major League Soccer has confirmed that due to the coronavirus pandemic they will resume the 2020 season after June 8.

The Major League Soccer (MLS) has decided on Friday to postpone the 2020 season until at least June 8 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league had previously hoped to return to action on May 10 and teams were supposed to return to practice after April 24.

A league spokesperson said that practice ban has not yet been officially extended but most likely it will and they will announce it in the next few days. “MLS remains focused on exploring a wide variety of formats for playing the entire season, including pushing back MLS Cup into December or later.”

Prior to this announcement it was speculated that the odds of playing a full 34-game regular season were decreasing. A statement on Tuesday said that “while we currently have enough dates to play the entire season, we recognize at this time that it may become difficult to do so.”

Commissioner Don Garber told ESPN on Monday that a resumption of play would likely begin with tournament-style competition at a set of locations and all home games should be played without fans in attendance.

The 2020 MLS season has seen all teams play just two games before the league decided to postpone the campaign because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Many footballers around the world have accepted a salary adjustment during the coronavirus pandemic in order to help those affected by the outbreak. According to journalist Jeff Carlisle the MLS has begun discussions with the MLS Player Association (MLSAP) about salary reductions of as much as 50%, but the amount is dependent on the number of games played.