MLS is Back Tournament

The 2020 Major League Soccer season, the 25th season of the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, began on February 29, 2020. On March 12, the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, following the cancellation of several matches.[2] At the time of the cancellation, all 26 teams had played two league matches. On March 19, the suspension was extended until May 10,[3] and on April 17, was again extended to June 8.[4] On May 1, the league announced that players were allowed to resume individual outdoor training at MLS facilities on May 6.[5] The COVID-19 pandemic is the first interruption of regular season play since the 2001 season, in which many late regular season games were cancelled due to the September 11 attacks.

The tournament was announced by Major League Soccer on June 10, 2020.[6] Teams may begin traveling to Florida on June 24, though they must arrive no later than seven days prior to their first match.[7] The tournament will feature 54 matches played on 26 days, all taking place behind closed doors without spectators at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida.

The 26 teams will be split into six groups based on their conference, with one group containing six teams and five containing four teams. Each team will play three group stage matches, and the results will count toward the 2020 MLS regular season standings.

Following the group stage, sixteen teams will advance to the knockout stage: the top two teams from each of the six groups, the third-placed team of Group A, and the three best teams finishing third (Groups B to F) or fourth (Group A). Originally, only the top two teams would advance directly, and the top four of the six third-placed teams ("wildcards") would join them in the round of 16. However, Major League Soccer later announced that the third-placed team of the larger Group A would also advance directly, and only three wildcard teams would advance (with the fourth-placed team of Group A also eligible to advance).[8] The knockout stage will culminate in the tournament final on August 11. If a knockout match is tied at the end of regulation, a penalty shoot-out will be used to determine the winner (no extra time is played).[9]

During the tournament, teams will be allowed to name a maximum of twelve substitutes, an increase from the MLS rule of seven. Additionally, teams are allowed to make up to five substitutions in a match, following a temporary amendment to the Laws of the Game by IFAB in order to lessen the impact of fixture congestion caused by the pandemic.[10] However, each team will be given only three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding those made at half-time.

The MLS is Back Tournament champions will qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. As a one-time change, this berth will replace the one normally awarded to the regular season conference champion that did not win the Supporters' Shield. The berth will be awarded regardless of whether the champion is from the United States or Canada. Should the winners be from Canada, they would still participate in the 2020 Canadian Championship.[11] The tournament will also feature a $1.1 million prize pool for players to earn additional bonuses.

Following the tournament, the MLS regular season will resume with a revised schedule, concluding with the playoffs and MLS Cup 2020.[12]

Major League Soccer announced a medical protocol, in consultation with experts, to be used for the tournament to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches, officials, and staff. This includes testing for COVID-19 prior to and throughout the tournament, wearing a face covering or mask, and social distancing to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 from occurring. Players and staff who are deemed "high-risk individuals" will not be permitted to attend the tournament unless medically cleared. Should anyone test positive for COVID-19, they will be required to isolate under a strict and detailed protocol to prevent transmission.[13]

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[14] Kick-off times in the tournament will be at 9 a.m., 8 p.m., and 10:30 p.m. EDT (UTC−4) due to the Florida climate. No matches will overlap during the tournament,[15] while during the group stage up to three matches will take place each day.[16]

The draw for the group stage took place on June 11, 2020, at 3:30 p.m. EDT (UTC−4), hosted by Charlie Davies and Susannah Collins. The 26 teams were drawn into six groups based on their conference. To allow for an even number of teams in each group for the tournament, Nashville SC were moved from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference for the remainder of the 2020 season.[17] The fourteen teams of the Eastern Conference were drawn into one group of six teams (Group A) and two groups of four teams (Groups C and E). The twelve teams of the Western Conference were drawn into three groups of four teams (Group B, D, and F).

Three teams from each conference were seeded and drawn into separate groups. Orlando City SC are considered the "host" of the tournament and were therefore seeded and automatically assigned to Group A. The remaining five seeds were determined based on results from the 2019 season.[18] Inter Miami CF were automatically assigned to Group A in order to face rival Florida club Orlando City SC in the opening match of the competition.[19]

The seeded teams were drawn first and allocated to position 1 of the first available group. The unseeded teams were subsequently drawn, with the representatives of the six seeded teams, in rotation, choosing a numbered ball to occupy the next available position in their group until all the groups were completed. The draw resulted in the following groups:[20]

Unlike Groups B to F, in which all teams will play one another in a round-robin format, the teams in Group A will only face three out of the five teams within their group. Therefore, the following fixtures for Group A were set prior to the draw:[18]

• 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup

• Official website