Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber spoke with media today regarding the “MLS is Back Tournament,” which was announced earlier today and is set to be held at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex next month.
- As previously announced, Major League Soccer will restart the 2020 season on July 8th with all 26 clubs at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.
- The “MLS is Back Tournament” will feature 16 consecutive days of soccer during the group stage with a continuous schedule of matches.
- Garber discussed medical protocol for the upcoming tournament, saying “We’ve put together a team of infectious disease doctors and consultants that work with us and our various chief medical officers to ensure we had the right protocols in place to manage it within the environment of a neutral site, to begin sourcing testing, both testing for PCR and for serology.”
- “Ensuring that we have the least impact on any tests that were going to be available for the general public,” Garber continued. “You should know that there will be a donation of serology tests that will be provided for free to residents of Central Florida.”
- When asked about testing and the potential contact between players and Walt Disney World Cast Members at both the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and the hotel, Garber explained that “those staff people will not be coming in close contact with our players.”
- “If they were going to be in close contact, then we would manage it though a different protocol,” Garber continued. “So we’re all going to be living in a world where we are not going to be able to test every person that comes in contact with each other or comes in contact with us as we go on with out lives.”
- When asked about the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and potential overlap with the NBA, who will also be continuing its season at the site, Garber said, “There has been discussion on the levels of, on medical, on the communications and the like between the two leagues and we have not had any discussions about attending each other’s games.”
- “Frankly, it’s not something that we’ve thought about yet,” Garber said. “If we’re able to manage it in a safe way I think it would be awesome. I think it speaks to the kidneys of things we’re looking to do to keep our players engaged and to provide them with opportunities to keep themselves excited and busy when they’re not playing.”
- On the topic of those things available to players at Walt Disney World, Garber said “Obviously there’s multiple fitness opportunities, there’s multiple pools, there’s restaurants, there’s things we’re working with Disney on to utilize, whether it be golf courses and all sorts of things like that. There will be a significant amount of player-engaged activities that our group is now working with Disney on and clearly, I’m sure the NBA is doing the same thing.”
- As far as where the players will be staying for the duration of the tournament, Garber explained that “they’re all in the same resort, in the same hotel.”
- “The Swan and the Dolphin Hotel will not be open to any other guests while the large group of our players is going to be there,” Garber said. “And then they will be able to travel in busses with each team having their own bus to the Disney [ESPN] Wide World of Sports Complex.”
More on the “MLS is Back Tournament”:
- The tournaments will be played without fans in the stands.
- Games will be played with the following guidelines:
- Group stage matches will count in the MLS regular season standings and the tournament winner will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.
- Each team will play three group stage matches, and those results will count in the 2020 MLS regular season standings.
- After 16 consecutive days of group stage matches, the top two teams from each group along with the four best third-place finishers will move on to the knockout stage.
- The knockout stage will include a Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Championship match will take place on August 11.
- Matches tied at the end of regulation in the knock-out phase will proceed directly to a penalty kick shootout.
- Extensive medical protocols with regular testing will be implemented for the tournament. More information can be found here.
- Some clubs will arrive in Orlando as early as June 24th to start training, while others will train in their home markets and arrive in Orlando no later than one week before their first match.
- The 26 MLS teams will be drawn into one of six groups during a live draw that will take place Thursday, June 11th, at 3:30 pm ET.
- MLS plans to continue its regular season with a revised schedule in home markets following the conclusion of the “MLS is Back Tournament.”