2021 MLS Season to Open Play on April 17, Says Commissioner Don Garber

The start of the 2021 Major League Soccer season has been pushed back two weeks, commissioner Don Garber said Wednesday (h/t Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now). 

The season, which was originally slated to start April 3, will begin April 17.

Regular season schedules have yet to be announced. 

An ESPN report said the move comes in the wake of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that the league and the MLS Players Association ratified two days ago. The agreement will remain in place through the completion of the 2027 season.

This is the second time that the league's start date has been pushed back. Originally, MLS was slated to begin in mid-March but the league delayed the season to accommodate the beginning of the CONCACAF Champions League in April.

While schedules will be announced "in the coming weeks," according to an MLS statement, certain dates on the league calendar are expected to remain the same. 

According to the report, all 27 teams will play 34 games each. The MLS Cup playoffs are slated to begin Nov. 19, with the final scheduled for Dec. 11. Training camp begins Feb. 22.