Major League Soccer announced today that the 2016 MLS Cup will be on Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 p.m. In a first for the league, the match will be played in primetime on network television. FOX will carry the match, alongside a Spanish language broadcast on UniMas.
For Atlanta United fans, this date will likely mean that the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft will take place during the following week between December 12-15. Updates on that process are expected in the coming weeks from the league.
The rest of the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs was also announced by the league today. The Knockout Round kicks off on October 26-27. This round sees each conference’s 3rd seed host the 6th seed and the 4th seed host the 5th seed in a one game playoff to advance. UniMas will broadcast all of the games, with ESPN and FS1 each picking up a game in this round.
The Conference Semifinals consist of a two-game, aggregate-goal format, home-and-home series held across the next two consecutive weekends. The higher seeded team will host the second leg. These schedule for these matches is:
Sunday, October 30:
- 3:00 p.m. (ESPN)
- 5:00 p.m. (ESPN)
- 7:00 p.m. (FS1)
- 9:30 p.m. (FS1)
Sunday, November 6:
- 3:00 p.m. (ESPN)
- 5:00 p.m. (ESPN)
- 7:30 p.m. (FS1)
- 10:00 p.m. (FS1)
MLS will take a break to observe the FIFA international window from November 7-15 before starting the Conference Finals. They will be played using the same format as the Semifinals and the schedule is:
Sunday, November 20:
- Western Conference Championship Leg 1, 8:00 p.m. (FS1)
Tuesday, November, 22:
- Eastern Conference Championship, Leg 1, 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, November 27:
- Western Conference Championship, Leg 2, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Wednesday, November 30:
- Eastern Conference Championship, Leg 2, 7:00 p.m. (FS1)
The highest remaining seed between the two Conference champions will host MLS Cup on Saturday, December 10.