MLS teams seeking reinforcements, be they domestic or overseas, must act by Wednesday or wait until midsummer.
That's because Major League Soccer's primary transfer window, one of two periods on the calendar in which teams can register new players via international transfers or intra-league trades, closes on Wednesday. Any such transaction not completed in time this week will have to wait until the opening of the secondary transfer window, which runs July 4 to August 3.
The final cutoff arrives at midnight CT (1 am ET) Thursday morning, on account of the US Soccer Federation's headquarters in Chicago.
Teams can still make trades that do not involve players – that is: swap draft picks, roster spots, allocation money and other assets – outside those two windows. Clubs may also transfer or loan their players to non-MLS clubs at any time, subject to that club’s federation’s transfer window and subject to the consent of the player. Upon loaning a player, clubs will receive roster relief and budget space, subject to the terms of the loan.
The registration windows – the dates between which MLS may request the transfer certificate of a player under contract in another country – are as follows:
- Primary Transfer Window | Feb. 18 – May 11, 2016
- Secondary Transfer Window | July 4 – Aug. 3, 2016
