MLS Finalizing Expansion To 20-Team Playoff Format

Major League Soccer and its clubs
Thursday

Major League Soccer is finalizing a new postseason format that would expand the playoffs from 16 to 20 teams. The proposed structure introduces upper and lower brackets, play-in games and a double-chance advantage for higher regular-season finishers.

The format has not yet received a formal vote, but MLS is in the final approval stages. League officials hope the tiered seeding benefits will make regular-season positions more meaningful while retaining single-elimination matches from the quarter-finals onward.