Brad Pursel, MLS senior vice president of game schedule management, who leads the development for the regular season and playoffs matches, says the league begins the planning process a year in advance in order to take factors like this summer's tournaments into consideration. While his team "pays attention to FIFA windows, other international competitions, whether it's Copa América, Gold Cups, things of that nature," he says, the goal to fit 34 games between February and October remains the highest priority.