FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Major League Soccer today held the MLS is Back Tournament Draw to determine the six groups for the tournament, featuring all 26 MLS clubs, to be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. The Revolution were drawn into Group C, where the club will face fellow Eastern Conference sides Toronto FC, D.C. United, and the Montreal Impact. Click here to view the complete results of today’s draw.
The MLS is Back Tournament will begin on Wednesday, July 8, with the Revolution’s group stage schedule and kickoff times to be announced at a later date. When the tournament begins, it will mark 124 days since New England’s last MLS match on March 7 prior to the season’s suspension. The Revolution faced the Impact in the 2020 MLS season opener – one of two matches the club played prior to the suspension of play – on Feb. 29, with Montreal securing a 2-1 win.
The 26 MLS teams were drawn into one of six groups. The Eastern Conference has three groups, one consisting of six teams and two consisting of four teams each. The Western Conference was divided into three groups, each consisting of four teams. As the host club, Orlando City SC has been placed as the top seed in Group A, which is the six-team group, In addition, Inter Miami CF will join Orlando in Group A. As part of Major League Soccer’s decision to restart the season in the state of Florida, the inaugural match between Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF will kick off the tournament.
The five remaining seeds consist of the four semifinalists from the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs – Atlanta United, Los Angeles Football Club, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC – and Real Salt Lake (the team with the next highest points total in the Western Conference from the 2019 season). The seeded teams were drawn into their respective groups first, and then the remaining 20 clubs were drawn and distributed across the conference-based groups.
COMPETITION FORMAT
Each team will play three group stage matches, and those results will count in the 2020 MLS regular season standings. After 16 consecutive days of group stage matches, the top two teams from each group along with the four best third-place finishers will move on to the knockout stage. The knockout stage will include a Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Championship match will take place on August 11. Matches tied at the end of regulation in the knockout phase will proceed directly to a penalty kick shootout. Click Here for the MLS is Back Tournament Competition Guidelines.
MLS worked with U.S. Soccer, Canada Soccer and Concacaf to institute a one-time change to MLS berths to the annual Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. The MLS is Back Tournament winner will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League, regardless of whether it is a U.S. or Canadian club. The winner would replace the berth previously awarded to the MLS regular season points leader in the conference opposite of the 2020 Supporters’ Shield winner.
In addition to matches that count in the regular season standings and the Champions League berth, players will have the opportunity to earn additional bonuses as part of a $1.1 million prize pool.
KEY DATES
June 24: Teams begin arriving in Florida
July 8:MLS is Back Tournament group stage begins
July 25-28: Round-of-16
July 30- Aug. 1: Quarterfinals
August 5-6: Semifinals
August 11:MLS is Back Tournament Final
MLS IS BACK TOURNAMENT – July 8 – August 11
Number of Matches: 54 (39 group; 15 knockout)
No. of matchdays: 26
Format: Group Stage, followed by Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals & Championship match
Minimum Matches: 3 (per club)
Maximum Matches: 7 (per club)
