Today is the big day for both Orlando City SC and New York City FC. The two expansion squads will go ten rounds to pick players and build out their new rosters. The draft will kickoff at 1pm CT.
How this draft will work:
MLS Expansion Draft guidelines and rules
(per MLS Player Department)Rounds
There will be ten (10) rounds.
Selection Clock
NYCFC and Orlando City are permitted three (3) minutes to make each selection.
Once the Player has been selected, the club that "lost" the player is permitted two (2) minutes to add a new player to their protected roster.Intermission
There will be a two (2) minute intermission between the fifth and sixth rounds (i.e., after the 10th pick).
Timeouts
There will be NO timeouts during the Expansion Draft.
Failure to Make Selection in Designated Time
Expansion clubs that fail to make their selection in time must wait until their next pick to make a selection.
Clubs that fail to add a player to their protected roster in time will lose their ability to do so.Trades
No trades are permitted during the Expansion Draft.
For the first time, Major League Soccer has opted to stream the draft online for us all. We're going to follow along here at Big D Soccer, so join us as we see which (if any) FC Dallas player gets chosen today.