MLS extends Summer transfer window as it moves into player trading alignment with Europe 

January 23 – Major League Soccer (MLS) has fixed one of its most persistent self-inflicted problems. For 2026, the league will extend its summer transfer window, with the deadline moving to September 2.

This is the first time MLS has properly aligned the close of its window with the major European leagues. While sounding like a simple administrative fix, for sporting directors, it changes the scope of the job.

Until this change, MLS clubs have repeatedly found themselves operating on a different clock. Last summer’s window shut on August 21. In 2024, it closed even earlier, on August 14, allowing players to leave for Europe after MLS teams were no longer allowed to replace them, while incoming deals dragged on elsewhere with no mechanism to register arrivals.

The summer window will open on July 12 and run through September 2, coming immediately after the 2026 World Cup. To make that possible, the winter window has been shortened, opening January 26 and closing March 26.

There is also overdue harmonisation north of the border. FIFA has approved MLS’s request to allow CF Montréal, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps to follow U.S. Soccer registration periods rather than Canada Soccer’s. Previously, the Canadian clubs were forced to shut their summer business earlier than the league’s 27 American clubs.

The calendar changes arrive alongside additional roster flexibility. MLS has removed limits on cash trades, which previously capped clubs at two incoming and two outgoing players per year via that mechanism. Age restrictions on intra-league loans have also been scrapped, giving teams more room to manage depth and development.

MLS clubs open competitive play in 2026 with the Concacaf Champions Cup on February 3, followed by the regular season on February 21. Roster compliance is set for February 20, with a roster freeze on October 9. Free agents can still be signed after the summer window closes, right up until that freeze.

For a league long criticised for fighting the global market rather than joining it, this is the moment of alignment that executives, critics, and fans have long awaited.

Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1769171027labto1769171027ofdlr1769171027owedi1769171027sni@r1769171027etsbe1769171027w.kci1769171027n1769171027