With the various conversations happening around scheduling and winter breaks and stuff, especially people issues with this years MLS playoffs, i've had next year on my mind. So I figure i'd make a post out of it. Here is what the end of next season is looking like: Season ends October 26th, FIFA break November 10-18 and Thanksgiving on November 27th I put together what a possible schedule could look like: It's a guarantee that this has issues. Any schedule will. But is it the best possible compromise?
If you have a game the day after the FIFA break ends, players who were called up won't be able to play anyway. You may as well just play during the break.
True, I put it there because the 2nd leg of the finals can't be on Sunday vs NFL. Discussions were had this year to play during the break. It didn't happen because there were too many conflicts, but depending on the factors its a possibility. If this year is any indication, it'll come down to which teams are playing various friendlies, which teams made the playoffs and how likely those players are to stay. If that mid week game can't happen, the 2nd leg of the Semi-finals would have to be moved mid-week nov 5th, which is even worse. Or else move further into December like this year...
I think, like this year, you are going to struggle to have matches played between 10-21 November.... UEFA: Although not confirmed, some teams will play EURO qualifiers during this period; the rest are almost all guaranteed to play friendlies AFC: No official matches, but with the Asian Cup being played in January 2015, this is the last FIFA match day for competing teams to play friendlies CAF: Match days 5 and 6 for 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers are being played during this period CFU: The CFU Caribbean Cup Finals will take place during these dates So unfortunately, 2014 play-off schedule will look almost identical to 2013.
A 9-day window? Ugh. This year's was a 5-day window for 2 games. I guess a lot depends on what actual game days are scheduled by the international teams. Best case for MLS would be if the international games are on the 12th and the weekend.
Europe's qualifying schedule (they would not use the "double-date" method for Nov 2014): http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/finals/news/newsid=2039404.html UEFA EURO 2016 regulations published Published: Wednesday 18 December 2013, 16.30 European Qualifiers match dates MD1: 7/8/9 September 2014 MD2: 9/10/11 October 2014 MD3: 12/13/14 October 2014 MD4: 14/15/16 November 2014 MD5: 27/28/29 March 2015 MD6: 12/13/14 June 2015 MD7: 3/4/5 September 2015 MD8: 6/7/8 September 2015 MD9: 8/9/10 October 2015 MD10: 11/12/13 October 2015 On double-header matchweeks, teams will play on Thursday/Sunday, Friday/Monday or Saturday/Tuesday. Play-off match dates First legs: 12/13/14 November 2015 Second legs: 15/16/17 November 2015
There could be Caribbean qualifiers for Gold Cup 2015. In 2012 the following countries played Caribbean qualifiers on November 14, 16, and 18: Haiti French Guiana Grenada Guyana Trinidad and Tobago Cuba Suriname St. Vincent and the Grenadines
According to the CFU Calendar, the final stages of the CFU Caribbean Cup will be played between 10-18 November. Here, we are likely to see the likes of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Cuba, etc... playing.
About a month earlier yeah, but with no World Cup qualifying, and the extended November FIFA window, all rounds (except the preliminary round, which will be played in May if required) will be played during official FIFA periods. Hopefully this will mean that all nations will enter and can field their strongest team... but thats a discussion on the Caribbean boards.
So apparently MLS are looking into holding the MLS Cup a week or so later this year: League is also considering moving the MLS Cup final to the third weekend of December.— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) January 16, 2014 So we could have a schedule like: 25/26-OCT: Final Regular Season Matches 01/02-NOV: Wild Card Round 08/09-NOV: Conference Semi Finals Leg One 15/16-NOV: FIFA International Period 22/23-NOV: Conference Semi Finals Leg Two 29/30-NOV: Conference Finals Leg One 06/07 DEC: Conference Finals Leg Two 13/14 DEC: Rest Week 20/21 DEC: MLS CUP where all matches will take place on weekends.
Honestly can't find a flaw in this scenario (schedule-wise, not weather-wise). Your Rest Week falls on NCAA College Cup weekend, so there is a nice fit of having some kind of US Soccer broadcast that weekend. (Surprised that nobody had yet suggested that instead of Rest Week, play MLS Cup over two legs!)
They dumped that one-page bitmap calendar, and now have an interactive calendar. (One quirk: some events, like "ordinary congress" are listed as an entire calendar month): CFU Caribbean Cup Phase 1 (24 Teams) From Monday, September 01, 2014 To Tuesday, September 09, 2014 http://www.cfufootball.org/index.php/events-calendar/month.calendar/2014/09/05/ CFU Caribbean Cup Phase 2 (16 Teams) From Monday, October 06, 2014 To Tuesday, October 14, 2014 http://www.cfufootball.org/index.php/events-calendar/month.calendar/2014/10/05/ CFU Caribbean Cup Phase 3 (8 Teams) From Monday, November 10, 2014 To Tuesday, November 18, 2014 http://www.cfufootball.org/index.php/events-calendar/month.calendar/2014/11/05/ Events Calendar (monthly) http://www.cfufootball.org/index.php/events-calendar/month.calendar/
Quirk isnt quite the word I would use lol But there is still a summary page here. The dates seem correct with respect to the Caribbean Cup and Club Championship.