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ajor League Soccer (MLS) commissioner, Don Garber, has described the impact of COVID-19 as “deeper than we expected”; confirming a $1.32 billion loss in revenue from the league and its teams compared to the previous year.

In mid-March, the MLS was suspended two weeks into its 2020 season, returning in early July when a bubble tournament was staged at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

Each of the league’s 26 teams resumed their regular season in August, playing between 21 and 23 fixtures, from a scheduled 34.

Despite being able to return to play, the MLS has suffered a financial impact following COVID-19 from reduced revenue streams and operational costs of playing with no or limited spectators.

Many employees suffered salary cuts in April, and 20% of full-time employees at New York headquarters were let off in an attempt to save on costs.

“The impact of all of this is probably deeper than what we expected,” Garber said.

“That is concerning to us, but our owners have been understanding this impact from the very beginning.

“Revenue for the league and its clubs is down almost $1 billion compared to last year.

“But we also incurred expenses we were not intending to occur, including charter planes for the teams and creating the whole bubble around MLS is Back,” he said.

Though previous reports have suggested the league may hold off on games until April 2021; Garber said that MLS is planning to start next season early to mid-March.

“We understand we are going to need some flexibility, but we are not going to be able to wait to make a decision until somebody decides fans will be able to [be in] stadiums,” Garber said.

“That is a date that is so uncertain at this point.

“We are concerned about what this will look like leading into 2021 and are working at figuring out how we can manage through that.

“I am very, very hopeful that 2021 will be a way better year than ‘20 because I don’t think any business can sustain the kind of impact that we sustained in 2020 for two years in a row,” he said.