Everything you need to know about the MLS is Back Tournament

Here are the details you need to know about this summer’s MLS is Back Tournament. 

Major League Soccer is coming back. While the 2020 MLS regular season was suspended in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league has announced the MLS is Back Tournament, which will feature 54 matches spread out over approximately five weeks.

Competition details and format for the MLS is Back Tournament

The tournament, which will be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Florida, will feature all 26 MLS clubs, divided into 6 groups. Each team will play three group stage matches – which will count toward the regular season points – followed by the knockout rounds (which will not have regular-season ramifications).

Groups will be drawn live on Thursday, June 11 at 3:30pm ET.

To help balance out the conferences, Nashville SC will be moved to the Eastern Conference for the rest of the season. Via MLS:

"The Eastern Conference will have three groups, one consisting of six teams and two consisting of four teams each. The Western Conference will have three groups, each consisting of four teams.As the host club, Orlando City SC will be given the top seed in Group A, which will be the six-team group, and will play in the first match on July 8. The five remaining seeds will consist of the four semifinalists from the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs – Atlanta United, Los Angeles Football Club, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC – and Real Salt Lake (the team with the next highest points total in the Western Conference from the 2019 season). The seeded teams will be drawn into their respective groups first and then the remaining 20 clubs will be drawn and distributed across the conference-based groups."

The tournament will kick off on July 8. The first two-and-a-half weeks of the tournament will be dedicated to the group stage, with the Round of 16 set to start around July 25. The top two teams from each group, plus the four best third-place finishers will move on to the knockout stage.   The semi-finals will be played on August 5 and 6, and the championship will be played on August 11.

Due to the brutal weather in Orlando, games will be played at 9:00am ET, 8:00pm ET, and 10:30pm ET.

The specifics of the schedule will be finalized following the draw on Thursday.

The winner of the MLS is Back Tournament will earn a spot in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. There is also a $1.1 million pool of bonus money for players to win.

As evidenced by putting regular season points up for grabs in the group stage, MLS is expecting to play out some kind of conclusion to the 2020 regular season and MLS Cup playoffs after the tournament.

“I’m very optimistic, MLS commissioner Don Garber told the media Wednesday. “I expect that we’ll be back in our stadiums I just don’t know the exact date.”

How will the league keep players and staff safe in the MLS is Back Tournament?

All 26 MLS clubs must arrive in Orlando no later than seven days before the start of the tournament. Players will be tested for the coronavirus and will be given an antibodies test before arriving in Orlando. Anyone who tests positive for the virus will not travel to Orlando.

During the first two weeks in Orlando, players and staff will be tested every other day. Personnel working at the ESPN Wide World of Sports or interacting with players and staff in any other way will be subject to temperature screenings and a health questionnaire. All venues in Walt Disney World will be enforcing CDC guidelines such as the use of face masks, social distancing, and cleaning and sanitation.

If a player or staff member tests positive for the coronavirus, that person will be placed in isolation in a separate part of the hotel. A plan will be determined by healthcare professionals to decide a timeline for that person to return. The league will also be doing contact tracing, but they say that as long as players continue to test negative or remain asymptomatic, they will not be asked to isolate, even if they have come into contact with a sick person.

How to watch the MLS is Back Tournament?

The MLS is Back tournament will kickoff at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex on July 8, 2020. According to MLS, “All 54 tournament matches will be played in standalone windows and televised across MLS partner networks. None of the matches will overlap.”

The live draw for tournament groups will be on Thursday, June 11th at 3:30pm. You can watch on MLSsoccer.com, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.