Soccer could be the first professional team sport to return from the COVID-19 break with the NWSL on Wednesday announcing plans for a 25-game tournament to be played behind closed doors in Utah beginning June 27.

The NWSL will house players from its nine teams at two hotels in the Salt Lake City area, where they will live and train during the ...Read more

This weekend, Germany's Bundesliga becomes the first major soccer league in Europe to return to action after stopping because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's a viewer's guide to the players to know about, how to watch the games, and picking a favorite team.

If you're new to this

Let's get the simple stuff out of the way first. The ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- After nearly two months of seeing his team only on Zoom or Facetime, Bob Bradley was back at LAFC's training facility Thursday, where he got to see many of his players work out in the flesh.

It was an important first step back from the coronavirus-induced shutdown that suspended the MLS season March 12. But, Bradley added, it ...Read more

The suspension of Inter Miami CF's inaugural season hasn't stopped the team from being tied to some of the biggest names in soccer.

The Major League Soccer expansion club has reportedly been linked to Real Madrid star James Rodriguez, with international soccer website Goal.com reporting that David Beckham, Inter Miami owner and president of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Soccer said Friday that it will reopen team training facilities to players next week for the first time since the league suspended its season in mid-March.

The partial lifting of the training moratorium, for individual workouts under closely controlled conditions, comes in response to concerns players were ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- In a major victory for U.S. Soccer, a federal judge on Friday dismissed the unequal pay claim brought by the World Cup champion women's national team, ruling that the evidence offered by the players' lawyers was "insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact for trial."

The team's allegation of discriminatory travel ...Read more

France's Ligue 1 became the second major European soccer league to abandon its season because of the COVID-19 outbreak when the country's prime minister announced on Tuesday that all sporting events would be banned until September.

France is scheduled to lift a nationwide lockdown May 11 and first- and second-division teams were hoping to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Soccer announced Friday it had extended its moratorium on games another four weeks, to June 8, adding for the first time that it is exploring changes in player compensation if a full 34-game season is not played.

"We are seeking to work collaboratively with the (players union) to find a solution that provides a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- U.S. Soccer is closing its youth developmental academy, the federation announced Wednesday.

"This was an incredibly difficult decision to make but the extraordinary and unanticipated circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a financial situation that does not allow for the continuation of the Development Academy...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Galaxy general manager Dennis te Kloese said Friday that Major League Soccer's plans to complete a full 34-game season this year are overly optimistic given the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Being realistic, within the country there's different issues," he said. "For a league that's so spread out, there's a lot of...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- MLS extended its moratorium on training sessions for a third time Wednesday, barring players and staff from using team facilities until at least April 4 because of the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The MLS has suspended its season until May 10, postponing 115 games leaguewide.

The training moratorium, first imposed on March ...Read more

U.S. Soccer named sports agent and former MLS executive William Wilson as the federation's CEO and secretary general Monday, filling a position vacant since Dan Flynn's retirement in September.

Flynn had been in the position 19 years.

Wilson, 52, has spent the last eight years with the powerhouse Wasserman sports agency, where he was executive...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Soccer on Friday extended its moratorium on organized team practices through March 27 in response to the continued spread of the novel coronavirus.

MLS placed a four-day ban on training sessions last week, then extended that into the weekend before adding another week to the moratorium Friday. Under the ban, team ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Soccer announced Thursday that it will suspend its season another four weeks, to May 10, a delay that figures to push the MLS Cup into December.

In a one-paragraph statement MLS, which a week ago announced a 30-day halt to the season, said the break was being lengthened "in accordance with the Centers for Disease ...Read more

BERLIN -- Soccer in Europe's major leagues was in crisis mode Saturday after all matches were suspended as the coronavirus pandemic laid waste to the sporting calendar.

Few events were left standing after a week which saw most sports cancel or postpone competitions, with golf's prestigious Masters tournament set for next month and Formula One's...Read more