MLS is Back Tournament
The MLS is Back Tournament is a one-off tournament during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League Soccer teams, 24 are participating in the tournament; FC Dallas and Nashville SC withdrew after several of their players tested positive for COVID-19 just before their first matches. The tournament is being held behind closed doors from July 8 to August 11, 2020, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. The tournament features a group stage, which is counted toward the 2020 MLS regular season standings, followed by knockout rounds. The tournament champion will qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League, and the 2020 season is scheduled to resume upon completion of the tournament.
Background
The 2020 Major League Soccer season, the 25th season of the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, began on February 29, 2020. On March 12, the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, following the cancellation of several matches. At the time of the cancellation, all 26 teams had played two league matches. On March 19, the suspension was extended until May 10, and on April 17, was again extended to June 8. On May 1, the league announced that players were allowed to resume individual outdoor training at MLS facilities on May 6. The COVID-19 pandemic is the first interruption of regular season play since the 2001 season, in which many late regular season games were cancelled due to the September 11 attacks.Format
The tournament was announced by Major League Soccer on June 10, 2020. Teams could begin traveling to Florida on June 24, though they could arrive no later than seven days prior to their first match. The tournament was planned to feature 54 matches played on 26 days, all taking place behind closed doors without spectators at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida.The 26 teams were originally split into six groups based on their conference, with one group containing six teams and five containing four teams. Each team will play three group stage matches, and the results will count toward the 2020 MLS regular season standings. However, following the withdrawal of FC Dallas and Nashville SC from the tournament, a revised structure for the group stage was announced on July 9, 2020. The tournament would be split into six groups of four, with Chicago Fire moving from Group A to B.
Following the group stage, sixteen teams will advance to the knockout stage: the top two teams from each of the six groups, and the [|four best third-placed teams]. The knockout stage will culminate in the tournament final on August 11. If a knockout match is tied at the end of regulation, a penalty shoot-out will be used to determine the winner.
During the tournament, teams will be allowed to name a maximum of twelve substitutes, an increase from the MLS rule of seven. Additionally, teams are allowed to make up to five substitutions in a match, following a temporary amendment to the Laws of the Game by IFAB in order to lessen the impact of fixture congestion caused by the pandemic. However, each team will be given only three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding those made at half-time.
The MLS is Back Tournament champions will qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. As a one-time change, this berth will replace the one normally awarded to the regular season conference champion that did not win the Supporters' Shield. The berth will be awarded regardless of whether the champion is from the United States or Canada. Should the winners be from Canada, they would still participate in the 2020 Canadian Championship. The tournament will also feature a $1.1 million prize pool for players to earn additional bonuses.
Following the tournament, the MLS regular season will resume with a revised schedule, concluding with the playoffs and MLS Cup 2020.
Medical protocol
Major League Soccer announced a medical protocol, in consultation with experts, to be used for the tournament to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches, officials, and staff. This includes testing for COVID-19 prior to and throughout the tournament, wearing a face covering or mask, and social distancing to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 from occurring. Players and staff who are deemed "high-risk individuals" will not be permitted to attend the tournament unless medically cleared. Should anyone test positive for COVID-19, they will be required to isolate under a strict and detailed protocol to prevent transmission.Prior to travelling to Orlando, all players, coaches, referees, club personnel and league staff were required to complete two Polymerase Chain Reaction tests 24 hours apart and 72 hours before travelling to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Upon arrival, all individuals were required to take another PCR test and are quarantined until the results of the tests arrive. All individuals who test positive will undergo a clinical assessment by a healthcare provider and moved to an isolation area of the hotel until they are medically cleared.
Major League Soccer started producing updates on the testing results of the PCR tests performed in Orlando on June 28. Up to that point, 329 individuals were tested for COVID-19, and two players tested positive, both of whom had just arrived at the facility. Within the next two days, 392 more individuals were tested, of which four of them tested positive. FC Dallas then provided an update on July 1 confirming that six of their players had tested positive for COVID-19, and the rest of their delegation had been quarantined in their hotel rooms pending the results of additional testing. From July 1 to 2, 855 individuals were tested, six of whom were tested positive for COVID-19, four of which were players. From July 3 to 4, two more players tested positive for COVID-19. Between July 7 and 8, Major League Soccer reported that four individuals tested positive for COVID-19, out of 1888 individuals tested.
On July 6, 2020, FC Dallas withdrew from the tournament due to ten players and one staff member of the club testing positive for COVID-19, after their opening match was initially postponed. On July 9, 2020, Nashville SC were also withdrawn from the tournament after nine players of the club tested positive for the virus, after their opening match was initially postponed.
On July 12, the match between Toronto FC and D.C. United was postponed just minutes prior to kickoff after at least one player was tested positive for COVID-19. The game was rescheduled for the following day on July 13, while the two players who received the positive and inconclusive test were both medically cleared to resume activities. Meanwhile, on July 14, Major League Soccer announced that there were no individuals who were tested positive out of the teams still participating in the tournament, while there was a single positive case out of the two teams that had withdrawn from the tournament.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows. Up to three matches will take place each day during the group stage, with kick-off times at 9a.m., 8p.m., and 10:30p.m. EDT due to the Florida climate. No matches will overlap during the tournament. The full match schedule for the tournament was announced on June 24, 2020.| Phase | Round | Match dates |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | |
| Group stage | Matchday 2 | |
| Group stage | Matchday 3 | |
| Knockout stage | Round of 16 | |
| Knockout stage | Quarter-finals | |
| Knockout stage | Semi-finals | |
| Knockout stage | Final | August 11, 2020 |
Draw
The draw for the group stage took place on June 11, 2020, at 3:30p.m. EDT, hosted by Charlie Davies and Susannah Collins. The 26 teams were drawn into six groups based on their conference. To allow for an even number of teams in each group for the tournament, Nashville SC was moved from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference for the remainder of the 2020 season. The fourteen teams of the Eastern Conference were drawn into one group of six teams and two groups of four teams. The twelve teams of the Western Conference were drawn into three groups of four teams.Three teams from each conference were seeded and drawn into separate groups. Orlando City SC was considered the "host" of the tournament and was therefore seeded and automatically assigned to Group A. The remaining five seeds were determined based on results from the 2019 season. Inter Miami CF was automatically assigned to Group A in order to face rival Florida club Orlando City SC in the opening match of the competition.
| Pot | Eastern Conference | Western Conference |
| Seeded | ||
| Unseeded |
The seeded teams were drawn first and allocated to position 1 of the first available group. The unseeded teams were subsequently drawn, with the representatives of the six seeded teams, in rotation, choosing a numbered ball to occupy the next available position in their group until all the groups were completed. The draw resulted in the following groups:
Originally, the teams in Group A were scheduled to only face three out of the five teams within their group. However, after the group stage format was revised, all teams will face each other. The following were the initial pairings set prior to the draw: On July 9, 2020, following the withdrawal of FC Dallas and Nashville SC, Major League Soccer announced that Chicago Fire would move from Group A to B, with Group A therefore becoming a four-team group. As a result, Chicago Fire is the only Eastern Conference team in an otherwise Western Conference group. Group stageThe results of all the games in this stage were counted for points toward the 2020 regular season standings.TiebreakersThe ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows:
---- Group B-------- ---- Group C-------- Group D-------- Group E-------- Group F-------- Ranking of third-placed teamsThe results of the third-placed teams from the six groups were compared against each other. The top four teams of this ranking advanced to the round of 16.Knockout stageIn this stage, if a match is tied at the end of 90 minutes of normal playing time, the match will be decided by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners.BracketRound of 16-------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Quarter-finals-------- ---- Semi-finals----FinalStatisticsTop scorers
Players in bold are still active in the tournament. Top assists
Players in bold are still active in the tournament. Shutouts
Players in bold are still active in the tournament. AwardsGolden BootThe Golden Boot will be given to the top scorer of the tournament. If multiple players are level on goals scored, the first tiebreaker for the award is assists. Audi will donate $10,000 to the academy of the winning player's club.Player of the TournamentThe Player of the Tournament will be given to the best overall player of the tournament. The player will be voted by media and fans.Golden GloveThe Golden Glove will be given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The player will be voted by media and fans.Young Player of the TournamentThe Young Player of the Tournament will be given to the top player of the tournament aged 22 or younger. The player will be voted by media and fans.MLS is Back Tournament Best XIThe media will determine a formation of the best eleven players of the tournament.Man of the MatchThe Man of the Match is named after each match by the editorial team of MLSsoccer.com.Team of the WeekThe Team of the Week includes the top players and coach during each week of the tournament, as chosen by the editorial team of MLSsoccer.com.
Goal of the WeekThe Goal of the Week determines the best goal during each week of the tournament. The editorial team of MLSsoccer.com shortlists goals for fans to vote for on Twitter.
Goal of the TournamentThe Goal of the Tournament will determine the best goal during the tournament. The editorial team of MLSsoccer.com will shortlist eight goals for fans to vote for on the website.Save of the TournamentThe Save of the Tournament will determine the best save by a goalkeeper during the tournament. The editorial team of MLSsoccer.com will shortlist eight saves for fans to vote for on the website.Media and broadcastingAll games in the tournament are being produced by ESPN as host broadcaster, and are being televised by Major League Soccer's media partners in the United States, Canada, and worldwide. Per health protocols, few ESPN staff members have on-field access, on-site production staff have been divided into smaller groups, and all games will be called remotely. ESPN decided against using simulated crowd noise for its broadcasts, instead placing a focus on "enhanced" in-game audio via microphones embedded in the field. ESPN is employing 33 cameras each on the three fields, and is also planning to use drone cameras for aerial shots. A large chroma key wall was erected at each field in place of grandstands, which is being used for displaying in-game sponsor logos. |
Diego Rossi
Ayo Akinola
Bradley Wright-Phillips
Magnus Eriksson
Jesús Medina
Sergio Santos
Saphir Taïder
Sebastián Blanco
Alejandro Pozuelo
Nani
Alan Pulido
Romain Métanire
Andre Blake
Stefan Frei
Thomas Hasal
Eloy Room
Przemysław Tytoń
Clément Diop
Pedro Gallese
David Jensen
Frédéric Brillant
Kevin Molino
Jonathan Mensah
Larrys Mabiala
Óscar Pareja
Kendall Waston
Ranko Veselinović
Yuya Kubo
Ismael Tajouri-Shradi
Jaap Stam
Kai Wagner
Vako
Sebastian Méndez
Gerso Fernandes