The general rule is that each sport has its own specific season! Indeed, there are winter sports, fall sports summer sports and so on …
… That’s why, many people tend to classify Soccer as a season sport and generally think that it is a fall sport!
So, Is Soccer a Fall Sport? While soccer may sometimes be regarded as a fall sport because many leagues and teams begin their seasons in late August, early September. In reality it is a game that is played virtually the whole year round. Major global tournaments like the World Cup are usually held in the summer months, for example.
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In fact, one of the reasons why soccer is the world’s most popular sport is due to its accessibility. It can be played anytime, anywhere, by virtually everybody, regardless of age, ability, or gender. And, for the armchair viewer, there is always a league to watch somewhere in the world, regardless of the season.
The main US professional league, the MLS, actually runs from March to November, although this is partly because of the climate in the Northern part of the country and the Mid-West, where it is too cold to play outside during other parts of the year.
It may be argued that extreme high temperatures during the summer months may also make it too dangerous to play a high intensity game like soccer then as well, but, in that case, games normally begin in the evenings when the sun has gone down.
There are, of course, indoor leagues and tournaments, but these are often associated with futsal, which is a slightly different type of soccer altogether.
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Is soccer a fall sport in college and high school?
Although high school districts are free to determine their own soccer seasons, it is normally regarded as a fall sport for both boys and girls,
There are exceptions to this, however, particularly for girls, with their season often moved to spring. And individual states may have their own rules. In the Sun Belt states like Arizona and Florida, for example, soccer is often played in the winter, allowing boys to play t after the conclusion of the (American) football season and girls once the fall volleyball season is over.
Certain high schools in California also hold both boys and girls seasons during the spring months.
In terms of colleges, the body that regulates such matters, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) divides the sporting year into three separate seasons – fall, winter and spring (there is no summer season because colleges are typically closed then).
Although some sports, like water polo have more than one season, soccer (for boys and girls) is not one of them. It is one of the six fall sports like Men’s football and Women’s volleyball.
This timing means that athletes, once they get to college level, are forced to choose one or the other.
There have been a number of talented college athletes, for example, who have excelled at both American football and baseball, and been offered the chance to try-out for both NFL and MLB teams.
That cannot happen with soccer because their seasons overlap.
Which months are the active seasons for Soccer?
1. In the US
As stated, high school and colleges tend to organise their soccer seasons in the fall months, although this spills over into the winter and spring seasons in states like California and Arizona.
However, the highest level of men’s professional soccer in the country, MLS (major League Soccer) typically begins their own season in early March and will run through to the play-offs in October, with the season finale, the MLS Cup taking place in November.
Equally the National Women’s Soccer League – widely regarded as the highest-level domestic tournament for female players in the world – follows a similar schedule, although they play less matches, and their play-offs and final typically take place in October.
Internationally, apart from global tournaments like the World Cup, the US also takes part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a competition that also features the likes of Canada, Mexico, and the countries of the Caribbean and Central America.
That is usually held in June every two years in the summer months.
2. In Latin America
Latin America covers a vast distance, stretching more than 7,000 miles from the Mexican border with the US in the north to cape Horn in the South…
…That also means that matches will be staged at different times of year according to local seasons, although they tend all to be based on a fall-spring timetable.
One feature that is unique to Latin America is the tendency to have two shorter seasons rather than one long one. For example, in Mexico, the Apertura will begin in the Mexican summer and end at the start of winter. There will then be a short break before the Clausura begins after New Year and continues into spring.
How the system is used varies from country to country. In Mexico, the two mini seasons are different with their own play-offs at the end and champions, whilst Argentina uses only league play to determine title winners.
Brazil is different again – it begins its own season with local, regional state championships before it commences the main championship in May.
The two interclub competitions, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana (the equivalents of the Champions League and the Europa League) begin in late January and will run until their respective finals in November.
And then there is the international club competition, the Copa Ameríca, the world’s oldest international tournament, which is held every four years in the European summer months (winter for most of the participants) to coincide with the European Championships on the other side o the world.
3. In Europe
Typically in northern climes like Russia and Scandinavia, where the weather and winter temperatures preclude playing between December and February.
However, in general, most leagues – like the Premier League in England, the Bundesliga in Germany and La Liga in Spain – will begin their league seasons in late August or early September and play through to May, with the domestic campaigns usually concluding with the final of a domestic cup competition – such as the English FA Cup Final.
The major European club competitions – the Champions League and the Europa League -are staged concurrently with league seasons, although the finals will be played after they have finished.
It should be noted that some leagues will have a two- or three-week mid-winter break, either in December or January.
Although this was originally introduced for reasons of avoiding the worst of local climactic conditions, it is also increasingly seen as a chance for players to rest and recharge their batteries in the middle of a hectic schedule of matches.
4. In Asia
Asia is the largest of all the footballing continents, encompassing 48 countries, 6 non-UN states and 6 dependent territories.
Not all of these fall under the Asian Football Confederation. Despite being geographically part of Asia, Turkey and Russia belong, in soccer terms in Europe, and so does Israel, both for political purposes.
Soccer tends to be played between fall and spring, but again there are differences due to local weather and climactic reasons, In China, for example, the season will begin in February normally, whilst in India, where the fledgling ISL (Indian Super League) is starting to make a big impression, the season runs from November to March, avoiding the monsoon season and the heat of summer.
The region’s premier club competition, the Asian Champions League, will usually begin its preliminary rounds in January and continue through to the final in late November.
5. In Africa
Africa, like Latin America, stans out from other continents by dint of the fact that it stretches both sides of the equator, with some countries in the Northern Hemisphere, others in the South, and some surrounding it.
This means that although there is not much differences in terms of time zones, the nature of the countries themselves and the climate varies tremendously.
There is a world of difference between the arid deserts of North Africa, the wetlands and jungle of the central regions, and the mountains to the north-east.
Naturally, this also affects when the football season in various countries begins and ends.
That means that while the leagues in Egypt and South Africa, arguably the two most developed in the continent, may start roughly at the same time – in August or late September, they are actually in different seasons locally.
It is worth mentioning the African Cup of Nations, the biennial equivalent of the European Championship or Copa América.
This was traditionally held in January, making it very unpopular with European club managers forced to release African players in the middle of a busy season.
To try and harmonise the world soccer calendar, the 2019 version in Egypt was moved to June to bring it into line with other major international tournaments.
However, the next edition of the tournament, to be held in Cameroon in 2021, but postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be held back in the winter again, because it would be too dangerous to play soccer in the height of summer there.
Final Thoughts …
The beauty of soccer is that it is not tied to a specific time or season, it literally can be played anytime and anywhere!
Most leagues over the world tend to start in the fall (late summer), but most of them end in early summer …
… This just shows that the nature of season doesn’t represent any issue for this wonderful sport!
Finally, if you want to learn more about some important soccer rules, then I strongly encourage you to learn about: