The MLS 2021 season is almost over, and no matter who will be the most successful team, it is always uncertain what anyone can expect from the next MLS 2022 season. That is why sports, in general, are so fascinating to watch all the time, and the same goes for soccer.
The MLS 2022 regular season will start on February 26th, ending on October 9th, and the MLS cup tickets will be reserved for November 5th. And since this season will start earlier, it is best to buy MLS tickets sooner because the schedule for the next season is changed.
Because there are some exciting changes for MLS 2022, we will see what they are and what we can expect from the upcoming season. So let’s get into it right away.
Schedule and Format Changes
As mentioned above, because next season will finish in November, the MLS cup final tickets will be available a lot earlier, and this happens because of the 2022 World Cup that will take place in Qatar, starting November 21st, 2022.
The reason being is because the players will have to be released for the national team and have time to rest to play at the highest level. Still, there won’t be a lot of time to rest since the FIFA-mandated player release is on November 14th, and the World Cup starts on the 21st, so some players will literally go to Qatar directly from the MLS 2022 Cup.
Another interesting change is that MLS announced that fans could buy Charlotte FC tickets since it will be a new team in the league in the Eastern Conference as the 28th team of the league. Therefore, Nashville SC tickets will be more available for fans of the Western Conference since this team will move there to make balance on both sides, having 14 teams. Furthermore, even though it is early, it is good to mention that St. Louis City SC will also join the league in 2023. Also, in the upcoming months, MLS will announce a 30th team for the league, which means that each conference will consist of 15 teams.
Back to MLS 2022, you will have the opportunity to buy MLS soccer tickets for your favorite team for 17 away games and 17 home games since each team will play 34 games in the regular season. In addition, each team will play two times with every conference opponent and once against eight opponents from the other conference.
The league also intends to limit midweek matches, and every team will have no more than five of these matches, but there could be additional dates for non-league competitions. The idea is to schedule these games between May and August but not in consecutive weeks. For example, the Seattle Sounders FC played 8 of these games in 2021, and they also had 3 more Leagues Cup games.
The 2022 World Cup Is Important
Even though the 2021 season is still not finished, and fans already have bought New England Revolution tickets for November 30th, waiting to see whether they will play against New York City FC or Atlanta United FC the league has to think ahead. The same goes for the Colorado Rapids fans who also await their next opponent, and even though this is exciting, the MLS had to also manage next year’s schedule according to the World Cup.
The qualification process for the United States national soccer team is still not finished, but everyone knows that there is a high percentage that the US team will play at the 2022 World Cup. That is why MLS announced that it would avoid scheduling games during the FIFA international windows, which are scheduled for March, June, and September. Instead, games will only be scheduled if a team requests, but only in March and June, as the rule does not apply for games in September.
The most interesting thing is that MLS has attempted to do so for a long time. Still, it never happened until now, which is a huge benefit for everyone since it is impossible to play while the international breaks are underway. This is especially valuable for players from teams that are one of the best, like the New York Red Bulls or D.C. United because these players played a long season this year.
2022 SuperDraft Trades
The MLS 2022 SuperDraft will be the 23rd SuperDraft in the league that always brings excitement since some of the future best players come to the league. It is held annually every January before the next season begins, and since 2021 it has had three rounds.
So, the soccer teams that have fourth-round picks from past trades will now have compensatory picks because of the change to three rounds. And some exciting trades have to be implemented through the 2022 SuperDraft, which may make positive changes for some teams. These trades are the following ones:
SuperDraft Round Trades
The so-called ‘natural’ trades for the MLS 2022 draft and the players that will be acquired, who sometimes are a significant surprise and they are the ones that motivate fans to buy regular and MLS playoff tickets, are these two:
- Round 2 – Nashville SC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC – It will be even more interesting to buy Vancouver Whitecaps FC tickets since on November 25th, 2019, they acquired a second-round selection pick for this year’s draft. The 25th pick from 2019 from Nashville SC in exchange for the 2nd pick that Nashville used to select Eric Miller, and now we will see what this draft will bring.
- Round 2 – Los Angeles FC and Nashville SC – In exchange for the number one pick to Los Angeles FC, on February 26th, 2020, Nashville got a second-round pick in this year’s draft, and the 24th pick, so the traded 2022 pick will be LA’s natural selection.
Compensatory Picks
The previously mentioned compensatory pick because of the three-round changes are the following ones:
- Compensatory, Minnesota United FC and FC Dallas – On December 13th, 2020, Dallas received a selection in the 2022 draft for a fourth-round from Minnesota in exchange for Callum Montgomery. Also, they received general allocation money for up to 50,000 dollars.
- Compensatory, Colorado Rapids and Atlanta United FC – Back on March 4th, 2020, the soccer team Atlanta United managed to acquire a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft from the Rapids for giving them the rights to Will Vint.
- Last but not least, conditional, Inter Miami CF and Vancouver Whitecaps FC – The Whitecaps acquired a conditional pick selection on September 5th in 2019 for next year’s draft from Inter Miami, which was made through an exchange for player David Norman Jr.
Future Considerations or Future Draft Trades
Something that is authentic and interesting about the MLS league is that these soccer teams have ‘future considerations’ in their trades that may become SuperDraft pick selections in the future. Some of the recent trades that are considered part of this segment are the following ones:
Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake – Real Salt Lake, back in April 23rd, 2018, got future considerations and the fourth-round pick in the draft from 2019 from Houston for giving Luis Gil for the 2018 MLS season,
Los Angeles FC and New England Revolution – Los Angeles FC got midfielder Lee Nguyen on May 1st, 2018, and the New England Revolution received 350,000 dollars in Targeted Allocation Money, 350,000 dollars in General Allocation Money, and possible future considerations.
2022 MLS All-Star Game in Minnesota
All-Star games are fans’ favorite in every sport, and the same goes for soccer. There isn’t a more attractive and exciting type of game in the world, which at the same time gathers the best players of the league and it provides a tremendous amount of fun.
MLS All-Star Game tickets will bring fans to Minnesota since this place will be the host of this incredible event in 2022. Target will present it, and Saint Paul and Minneapolis will be the hosting cities. The scheduled date is August 10th at the Minnesota United Allianz Field.
It is a 19,400 seat soccer stadium opened in 2019 with a 360-degree overcharging roof structure. It will be the place to be since All-Star Games are always a lot of fun for every sports fan, especially if you are a soccer fan. So it is best to buy MLS All-Star tickets in advance; even though there are almost 20,000 seats, tickets sell out fast because some of the best superstars from various teams will be playing this impressive game.
In last year’s All-Star Game most players were from the Seattle Sounders FC,even six players from Seattle, three players from Los Angeles FC, and two players from each team from Orlando City SC, Atlanta United FC, LA Galaxy, New England Revolution, and the Philadelphia Union. Of course, there were some players from other teams, but the best thing is not only the variety, but also the fact that these are the best players in the league and you have the chance to watch them all together in one game, so it doesn’t get any better than this.
To Sum It All Up
Here you have all the important information about the upcoming MLS 2022 season that will be a little different in format, but for sure even more exciting for the soccer fans. Even though the 2022 World Cup is the reason why the schedule had to be changed, there is a high probability that this will make the season even more exciting. And with the All-Star coming in August with a full stadium of audience it can not get any better.
So don’t waste any more time and buy some MLS tickets the first chance you get because soccer is getting more and more popular in the US as time goes by, and it will certainly bring many interesting aspects to the game in the future. Check out all the MLS teams here!
