The 2024 Major League Soccer playoffs kicked off this week. The sixteen qualified teams — eight each from the Eastern and Western conferences — have been working since February to earn their spot in the playoffs. But now that they’ve made it, teams are speaking out about how underwhelming the playoff format has become.
“No, we don’t like it,” said LAFC’s Aaron Long. “We just don’t like the best-of-three.”
Long’s referring to the first round of the MLS playoffs, where each team plays a best-of-three series against an opposing seed from its conference. Aggregate scores don’t matter and ties aren’t allowed; if a match finishes level after 90 minutes, it goes straight to penalty kicks to determine a winner.
“You can lose the first game 5-0,” said Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei, “and tie the next two games, win in PKS, and you’re going through? I don’t like that.”
Fans don’t like it either. After a strong season of regular sell-outs, MLS is struggling to get fans into its stadiums for the playoffs. When Alex Roldan scored a late penalty to hand the Seattle Sounders a nervy Game 1 win, he did so in front of swaths of empty seats. The entire top deck of Seattle’s Lumen Field was bare.
