Major League Soccer has finally released its 2012 schedule. The new season begins on March 10, and goes until December 1 when the MLS Cup 2012 will be played.
Each of the league’s 19 teams will play 34 games in 2012, and every regular-season game will be televised live this season either via national or local TV contracts.
The season begins with First Kick 2012, presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods, which includes five matches on Saturday, March 10. The reigning MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy will begin the defense of their title at home on March 10 against Real Salt Lake, while the Montreal Impact will make their MLS debut on the road against their Canadian rivals Vancouver Whitecaps on TSN.
The 2012 MLS regular season will conclude Sunday, Oct. 28, with three games, followed by the MLS Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup 2012 on Dec. 1, hosted by one of the two finalists. From First Kick to MLS Cup, the calendar footprint of the 2012 season is 267 days – the longest in League history (as is the regular season, at 232 days).
Interesting to hear that MLS said that it initially did not schedule any games on FIFA fixture dates, but did allow teams to move a game to one of those dates when other scheduling conflicts could not be resolved. So there are still a few games on select FIFA fixture dates, but much less than in the past and that is a good thing.
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