News: Wednesday, May 30, 2012

That one doesn't count, because Eric Wynalda says so!

Putz.

 

Seriously, you're claiming they completely stopped play during those years during every international date?

 

No, but I pointed out during the off-season, taking into account International dates and required travel time for players it is IMPOSSIBLE for MLS to respect all international dates. The last 4-5 years, they have taken a good portion of time off for major events.

 

I replied to that tab person, unless you have two accounts. I'm not trying to argue with you , or him. I just thought it was weird theuy would take off 2 weekends , which is something they don't seem to do, unless it's the World Cup. MLS has played during plenty of international dates...good old bs forums...........

 

That's not exactly what my earlier post said.

It said "some reverence."

Some does not mean total or "completely."

MLS's scheduling decisions are evolving year over year.

2012 is not the first season in which they have tried to avoid or schedule lightly during the FIFA international match periods.

Conflicts are becoming fewer and fewer and the league is (apparently, give their own announcements) trying to play as many games as possible without players away on international duty.

 

Yeah I know who you replied to . . .just trying to help explain that while folks on BS seem to complain about playing on International dates (not you) but don't realize with a summer schedule it is impossible to avoid.

 

Yeah, every year a thread shows up on the subject.. I usually only get annoyed if it's a US men's game that is in conflict.

The main thing I couldn't figure out is that CONCACAF's WCQ starts on June 8th, at least that's what the last schedule I read on their website said. Maybe the US Open Cup had something to do with it?

At least there is NE vs Chicago on Saturday, we get one game.

 

I don't think the USOC dates had much to do with determining on which weekends MLS opted to schedule games (or a full set of games) during the 2012 season.

(although, perhaps some of these USOC dates were in part selected during the periods when there were known lulls in the MLS season schedule, and those lulls do now tend to occur near/around FIFA international match dates. so it's no surprise that MLS teams are getting involved with USOC games now in 2012 when their league schedule is thinning out a bit, or significantly, in the last week of May and the early weeks of June.)

MLS is trying (apparently as best they can, and it isn't easy, given the climate in the geographically huge US/Canada) to avoid as many FIFA international match dates as possible in 2012. (and that trend toward that scheduling decision and implementation -- to attempt to get away from as many of the FIFA dates as possible -- actually began back in MLS in 2008 and 2009. and the league is "getting better" at it, taking such steps as a break for two weeks during the group stage of the 2010WC and now breaking, save for a pair of games that were needed to be scheduled and were agreed to by the clubs, on these first two "FIFA weekends" in June 2012.)

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/calendar/events.html

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/wor...-2014-updateMay2011-EN_11-01240_101_EN_EN.pdf

June 1-5 are FIFA international match dates in 2012.
June 8-12 are FIFA international match dates in 2012.

also: Official matches
(release period for players: 4/5 days)

 

Euros as well

 

FIFA international match dates, generally speaking.