Major League Soccer will today hold a live draw to determine the group assignments for each of the 26 teams in advance of the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex beginning July 8. The tournament schedule, including specific matchup dates and full broadcast details, will be announced at a later date.
The draw will be streamed live at 2:30 p.m. CT on MLSsoccer.com, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and representatives from each of the six top-seeded teams will participate in the draw to determine the tournament groups.
The 26 MLS teams will be drawn into one of six groups. The Eastern Conference will have three groups, one consisting of six teams and two consisting of four teams each. The Western Conference will have three groups, each consisting of four teams.
As the host club, Orlando City SC has been placed as the top seed in Group A, which will be the six-team group, In addition, Inter Miami CF will join Orlando in Group A. As part of Major League Soccer’s decision to restart the season in the state of Florida, the inaugural match between Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF will kick off the tournament.
Group Stage Matchups
Each MLS club will play three group stage matches which will count toward the overall 2020 regular season standings (win = 3 points, draw = 1 point, loss = 0 points).
In the case of the four-team groups (Groups B-F), each team will face off against the other three. For Group A, which will be made up of six teams, the following will be the three matchups for each:
- Team A1 (Orlando City): vs. A2, A3, A6
- Team A2 (Inter Miami): vs. A1, A4, A5
- Team A3: vs. A1, A4, A5
- Team A4: vs. A2, A3, A6
- Team A5: vs. A2, A3, A6
- Team A6: vs. A1, A4, A5
Seeded Teams
Each of the six groups will feature a seeded team and the draw will first determine the group for each of the seeds.
As the “host” team, Orlando City SC will automatically be designated as the top seed of six-team Group A (“A1”). Here's the full list of seeds:
- East: Orlando City (hosts)
- East: Atlanta United (2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs semifinalist)
- East: Toronto FC (2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs semifinalist)
- West: LAFC (2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs semifinalist)
- West: Seattle Sounders (2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs semifinalist)
- West: Real Salt Lake (next highest points total in the Western Conference from 2019 season)
Draw Procedure
- The names of the remaining two East seeds (Atlanta & Toronto) are each placed in a ball and those two balls mixed together in a pot.
- A ball is randomly selected by the host and that East team will be designated as Group C seed ("C1"). The remaining ball in the pot is the Group E seed ("E1").
- Similarly, the names of the three West seeds (LAFC, RSL, Seattle) are each placed in a ball and those three balls are mixed together in a pot.
- A ball is randomly selected by the host and that West team is assigned as Group B seed ("B1"). The next selection by the host will be the Group D seed ("D1"). And the remaining ball will be designated as Group F seed ("F1").
Unseeded Teams
With MLS restarting the season in the state of Florida, the MLS is Back Tournament will kick off with a matchup of the two Florida-based teams, Orlando City SC vs. Inter Miami CF. That matchup sees Inter Miami designated as team “A2” prior to the draw.
The 10 remaining unseeded East teams and the 9 unseeded West teams will be assigned to groups according to the following procedure, beginning with the Eastern Conference:
- The names of the 10 remaining unseeded East teams are each placed in an unmarked ball and the 10 balls are mixed up in a pot.
- The 10 balls are then numbered "1" through "10".
- With Inter Miami already designated as “A2,” a representative from the seeded team in Group C picks a number at random between 1 and 10. The team name in the corresponding ball is assigned to Group C as "C2". The designated representative of the Group E seed will then take a turn to do the same for team "E2". The sequence of turns resumes with Group A seed Orlando City (followed by Group C and Group E seeds) and it is repeated until every unseeded East team is assigned a group slot.
- The names of the 9 unseeded West teams are each placed in an unmarked ball and the 9 balls are mixed up in a pot.
- The 9 balls are then numbered "1" through "9".
- Representatives from each of the Group B, Group D and Group F seeds take turns picking a number at random between 1 and 9. The team name in the corresponding numbered ball is assigned to that seed's group in the next available position (B2, D2 and F2 followed by B3, D3 and F3, etc.). The sequence is repeated until every unseeded West team is assigned a group.
Groups
GROUP A
Eastern Conference
- Orlando City SC
- Inter Miami CF
GROUP B
Western Conference
GROUP C
Eastern Conference
GROUP D
Western Conference
GROUP E
Eastern Conference
GROUP F
Western Conference
