MLS players on international duty will potentially be available to play for their clubs in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs thanks to a travel plan approved by the league and its medical experts that involves players traveling back to their clubs on charter flights.
The news of the plan was first reported by ESPNFC’s Jeff Carlisle.
With players already in controlled environments featuring regular testing with their respective national teams, the controlled environment of a charter flight will not require players to quarantine when they rejoin their MLS club team on U.S. soil as long as they test negative for COVID-19.
This will allow players to potentially be available for MLS teams for the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs which begin this weekend, pending the players testing negative and other logistics. Not every player on international duty may be in position to make use of the charter option.
A total of 13 of 18 playoff teams had players called up by their national teams for November FIFA fixture dates with Minnesota United (Jan Gregus, Kei Kamara, Robin Lod, Romain Metanire) and LAFC (Jose Cifuentes, Diego Palacios, Brian Rodriguez, Diego Rossi) seeing four of their starters depart last week.
The MLS Cup Playoffs kick off on Friday, November 20 with two Eastern Conference Play-In matches on national TV in the USA and Canada: New England Revolution vs. Montreal Impact (6:30 p.m. ET on FS1, TSN 1/4, TVAS) and Nashville SC vs. Inter Miami CF (9 p.m. ET on ESPN2, TSN 1/4, TVAS).
