Major League Soccer's tradition of continuing to play matches during the World Cup will come to an end next summer.
MLS announced on Wednesday that it will not hold matches during the group stages of the 2010 World Cup, which begin on June 11, 2010. MLS, which won't hold matches from June 11th until June 25th, will also not play matches on the days of the World Cup semifinals or the final.
The announcement comes after criticism of MLS for having played matches during the past three World Cups, and continuing to play matches on international fixture dates.
MLS also announced that it will go to a balanced schedule in 2010, with all 16 teams playing each other twice. Also, the 2010 MLS season will kick off on March 25, with the 2010 MLS Cup set for Nov. 21.
What do you think of these developments? Relieved? Happy to see MLS come to its senses? Disappointed to know rivals like Chivas USA and LA will only play each other twice now? Getting excited about the World Cup (even thouh it's still eight months away and even though the US national team hasn't qualified yet)?
Share your thoughts below.
