[Portland, OR; February 3, 2021] 

The Timbers Army emphatically supports MLS players in their negotiations with the league.

This past year has been one of incredible hardship and sacrifice for all of us. Players have put themselves at risk — giving up time at home with loved ones, enduring extremely challenging travel and working conditions, and making significant monetary concessions — all in service of the game we all love. Supporters recognize the sacrifices that players have already made on behalf of supporters and the league in order to allow the highest levels of professional soccer in the United States and Canada to continue in the midst of a pandemic.

While league owners also made sacrifices and endured losses in 2020, MLS team owners are far better positioned to absorb such losses in the short term. The MLS Players Association (MLSPA) proposal to extend the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) into the 2026 season, along with other non-economic changes, is a reasonable offer, and it demonstrates the players’ good faith and willingness to find working solutions that contribute to the league’s long-term stability. The league’s attempt to extend the current contract through 2027 smacks of a cynical attempt to take advantage of a short-term emergency and a setback from what had been great momentum and progress between MLS and the MLSPA.

In 2019, the players stood in solidarity with the supporters. Now it is our time to stand with them. We stand with MLSPA. #LetThemPlay2021