With other European football leagues already suspending their seasons, MLS announced today that they will be suspending play for a minimum of 30 days due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. La Liga in Spain and Serie A have already postponed or suspended their matches with immediate effect, and other leagues in Europe are expected to follow suit in the next few days.
There had already been similar movement mandated by a handful of cities and states, with the Seattle Sounders and San Jose Earthquakes already prohibited from playing any home matches in front of their fans due to a limit of crowd gatherings in any one location. And with the NBA already suspending play and baseball scheduled to meet tomorrow to consider the same, the move by Major League Soccer is hardly shocking.
The MLS season began play two weeks ago, and if the suspension of play is only 30 days, the plan is for the season to be extended into late October with all 34 regular season games being played. Of course, depending upon the future course of the coronavirus, the current 30-day suspension could certainly be lengthened.
The United States Soccer Federation had already cancelled all scheduled friendlies involving the women’s and men’s national team.
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