MLS: Behind closed doors or bust or 2020 season?

The 2020 MLS season is in serious jeopardy. As governors scramble to form plans to finish the campaign, it might be behind closed doors or bust.

“We will not have sporting events with fans until we have a vaccine.” They are the words of Zach Binney, a PhD student in epidemiology who teaches at Emory. A vaccine will take 12-18 months to develop and widely distribute. Ergo, no sporting events with fans for a year, in Binney’s expert opinion.

Listen to the latest episode of the MLS Multiplex podcast here! —  What happens with COVID-19?

What remains of sporting calendars around the world remains to be seen. COVID-19 has ripped through society — and sport. It will take some going to recover quickly. And given that sports bring people together for extended periods in close proximity to one another, they will surely be one of the latter events to be sanctioned again.

For Major League Soccer, they had hoped that all they would lose is time. With only two matches played in the 2020 season, unlike many other leagues, especially in Europe, they had margin for error regarding the sport’s return.

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But as the extent of the crisis has become known, the goalposts have repeatedly shifted, with MLS now set to announce that play will be postponed until June 8th, per Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.

And that is just for play to return. Bums in seats, fans in bars, watch parties in living rooms. They are very different situations. It remains obvious to say, then, that if MLS wants to play out the 2020 season is some capacity, it will be behind closed doors or bust.

“If that’s what we have to do to take steps to earn being together in a real fan environment with full stadiums, that’s what we’re going to do,” FC Dallas head coach Luchi Gonzalez explained to reporters on Wednesday. “We’re going to do it with a lot of pride. Although it’s not ideal, it’s still better than the situation we are in right now where we’re not even able to train together.”

Los Angeles FC head coach Michael Bradley was not so accepting of the prospects of games without fans, though did admit that these are special circumstances.

“The connection we have with our supporters is key,” Bradley said when asked about the prospect of playing in an empty stadium on a Zoom call with reporters. “I think all of us will look into those stands and, in our case, we’ll see the 3252. We’ll see those people who come every time to the Banc of California Stadium and are there with us. You’ve got to find ways in tough times to adapt. It’s not what any player in the world would want, and in reality, a game without fans has no soul, but this is different.”

Gonzalez was asked whether he agrees with Bradley’s stronger comments. He had some sympathy. “I wouldn’t say you completely lose our soul or the game will lose its soul, but part of it, it’ll lose part of its soul,” Gonzalez responded.

As Binney’s rather stark and direct warning makes clear, sport with fans is not coming any time soon. And MLS has a time limit to finish the 2020 season by. With only two games having been played, there is also far less pressure to conclude the campaign as there is Europe with several teams on the verge of historic titles and promotions.

Nevertheless, with TV deals on the line and several teams relying on matchday revenue, with or without the fans, MLS will be keen to conclude the 2020 campaign in any way possible. Even if it means losing its soul.