Major Arena Soccer League returns for, what is technically, its 17th season - it was founded in 2008 as the Professional Arena Soccer League then renamed MASL in 2014 when PASL merged with six squads from MISL.

Not a season seems to have gone by without some expansion or contraction and the 2025/26 season will be one of the latter. MASL lost three teams from last year, including the league’s back-to-back-to-back champions, Chihuahua Savage. Also out are the Texas Outlaws and the Dallas Sidekicks - two teams who finished mid-table and were fairly competitive. Lastly is a fourth team, while not completely dropped from the website, they are marked as inactive and have not been added to this year’s competition.

The league will kickoff with only 9 teams and as a matter of fact, this is the fourth straight year of contraction for MASL; in 2023 they dropped the Ontario Fury and Rochester Lancers, 2024 lost the Florida Tropics, last year they dropped the Monterrey Flash and this year, the above-mentioned squads.

This Friday will kickoff the season with three games:

11/28 - Kansas City Comets vs St Louis Ambush
6:05pm ET Kickoff at the Family Arena in St. Charles, MO
11/28 - Empire Stykers vs San Diego Sockers
10:30pm ET at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, CA
11/29 - St Louis Ambush vs Kansas City Coments
7:05pm ET at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO

The rivalry between the Comets and the Ambush is always a great way to get started and a double-dose at that. They’ll face off four more times, two at home and two away, in December and January, then won’t see each other again, potentially, until the playoffs.

The Ron Newman Cup Playoffs have been modified to account for the smaller amount of teams involved and the top 6, out of 8, will quality for post season play. The teams will be seeded 1-6 based on their regular season finish and will not be reseeded as the playoffs progress. The 1 and 2 seed will have a first round bye as 4 plays 5 and 3 plays 6 in a home and home quarterfinal series - a third, tie-breaker game, will be added if needed.

The semifinals will see the 1 play the winner of 4 vs 5 and the 2 play the winner of 3 vs 6. The actual Final will be a best of three series. Additionally, the team who finishes the regular season with the highest amount of points will win the MASL Shield.

The MASL W also gets underway this Friday with a matchup between the Columbus Eagles, who finished 3rd in the Great Lakes South division last year, and the Louisville Triumph, who finished 2nd. The two teams faced off three times, Louisville got the better of the regular season series with two wins at home and outscoring Columbus 13-8 overall; however, the Eagles did win at home last year, 5-4 and hope to repeat that feat.

There are 24 active teams and great matchups from Detroit City FC to Texas Lone Star SC; from Iowa Raptors to 512 FC in Austin Texas. If you’re looking for something to hold you over until Spring soccer returns, this league is a must - find your favorite local teams and check in with them on social media to see about streams. MASLW League Site