MLS is Back: Tournament questions do not ruin the fun
By Sam Minton
On Wednesday, Major League Soccer released its plans to return action: The MLS is Back Tournament will commence in July. And despite the many questions, its fun will not be ruined.
The nightmare is finally over. Soccer will be back soon in the United States. On Wednesday, Major League Soccer announced the MLS is Back Tournament and the details are complicated, to say the least.
The tournament kicks off on July 8th with all 26 clubs participating. The winner will earn the 2021 Concacaf Champions League spot. This is basically a World Cup for MLS. Play begins with a group stage that will feature 16 straight days of games, three games per day, one in the morning and two in the evening to avoid the Orlando heat and humidity.
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This will be tough on the players, especially considering the extended period without any competitive play, but with MLS being the only active men’s sport in the States, they have a unique opportunity to grow the game, and that is something that they have spoken of as being important before.
The most complicated element to the tournament, beyond all the logistical elements, which are extremely detailed and confusing in and of themselves, including where and how players and teams will live and the testing regimes that will be conducted to keep everyone involved safe and healthy, is the group stage.
The group stage counts towards the regular season and after the tournament, teams will return to their home markets to continue the regular season in preparation for the playoffs and MLS Cup later in the year.
One would’ve thought that this tournament could supplement the regular season. Trying to tie the two together is extremely difficult. There is major doubt over how this can be fair with teams missing home matches, others dealing with travel and imbalanced training schedules in the build-up to the competition, and the entire idea of having a group stage of a knockout tournament then impact the regular season, which is in effect another group-stage-like set-up of another tournament, is fishy, to say the least.
There is also the question of a player testing positive. Imagine if Carles Gil misses a key game for the New England Revolution due to a positive test or Carlos Vela for LAFC? Fans won’t be happy and teams will find it unfair. Of course, injuries and illnesses in a season happen and play simply goes on, but given the circumstances, contracting COVID-19 is very different from pulling a hamstring.
Ultimately, however, for all the quirks and questions, this is a positive step. As the first professional sports league to return in the United States, MLS will be at the forefront of the sports world.
Fans, too, should be ecstatic that they will get to see their favorite clubs playing competitive matches once again. They might not be allowed in the stadium. They might have to sit at home and watch a game without crowd noise or atmosphere. But in the current situation, it is far better than the alternative.
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So get ready. MLS is back and there will be plenty of it soon enough. The difficulties can be put to one side for now. This is about celebrating the return of soccer.