Atlanta United president: MLS intends to play full season

The Major League Soccer season is on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, and there's no timetable for a return. However, Atlanta United President Darren Eales says MLS intends to play a full 34-game schedule this season despite growing concerns, according to Firstpost. 

Eales noted the MLS is lucky to have a schedule that starts in March and runs through October. If the league can't play games until summer, it won't impact things too much — teams will just have to play a few games per week instead of just one. 

"We're fortunate that we had just started our season," he said Monday during a teleconference with Atlanta media, according to Firstpost. "We have the whole calendar year to reschedule the games we missed. The emphasis is on playing all 34 games plus the playoffs."

The MLS halted its season after just two weeks of play but has set a tentative return date of May 10, although even that may be pushed back due to COVID-19.

Eales said the MLS Cup may be pushed back until mid-December in order to play a full season and that all possibilities are on the table.