The MLS announced its plan for what it’s calling the MLS is Back Tournament — a very matter of fact name — that will take place in July and August in Orlando at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.
All 26 teams will participate in the tournament that features six groups, one of six teams and the rest made up of four, and each team will play three games in pool play before the top two teams from each group, plus the four best third-place teams, move on to a knockout round. Games will be played from July 8 through August 11, with the top seeds in the six groups being host Orlando City SC, Atlanta United, LAFC, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC, and Real Salt Lake. Teams must arrive in Orlando seven days before their first game, but can go as early as June 24.
For the purposes of making the groups work, Nashville SC will operate as an Eastern Conference team for the rest of the season. The group stage games will count towards each team’s regular season record, and the winner of the tournament will get a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. The tournament will span 54 games in total, with players eligible to earn bonuses from a $1.1 million prize pool, and games will be played at 9 a.m., 8 p.m., and 10:30 p.m. ET during group stage play.
There will be 1,200 people in total entering the Orlando bubble, including 750 players, and the MLS has worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci to craft a testing and antibody testing plan for all of its members — they will also contribute antibody testing to the central Florida community in a gesture of goodwill as well.
Once the tournament ends, the plan is for the MLS to return to an adapted regular season schedule with teams playing in their home markets, with the full schedule still to be announced.