MLC has officially announced the dates for its fourth season, June 18 to July 18, 2026. The T20 tournament will include six teams and is once again comprised of 34 matches using the same format that was introduced in 2025. Although the league's popularity has continued to grow, there are questions around governance issues between USA Cricket (USAC) and American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), who act as the operators of the league. 

The controversy surrounding a contractual dispute between USAC and ACE still makes headlines, as USAC terminated its agreement with ACE, and there are no clear publicly available statements as to if that was put back in place. Corey Anderson, a former New Zealand cricketer and the operational director of the USA Cricketers’ Association, which is not formally recognized by USAC, noted that the vagueness is problematic for player security and for long-term planning, particularly since the MLC is becoming an important outlet for domestic talent.

From its foundation in 2023, MLC has grown in size and attractiveness. The tournament began with 19 matches, then 25 in 2024, before reaching 34 matches by 2025. Moving the league to a June-July window from season three onward will also help avoid potential clashes with other global franchise leagues, enabling MLC to attract a larger pool of international players.

Expansion Plans and Future Outlook

Johnny Grave, MLC’s Chief Executive, reflected on the league’s success, saying, “Season 3 showed that demand for top-tier cricket in the USA is real and accelerating. MLC is winning new fans, followers, and viewers throughout the USA and around the world. We're delivering on our promise to grow the game across the USA and build relations with new and existing commercial partners.”

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The league’s ownership group, ACE, has ambitious plans for the future, including building ten international-standard cricket venues across the US by 2030 with an investment of over USD 150 million. The six confirmed teams for the 2026 season are Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, and Washington Freedom. Looking ahead, MLC plans to expand to eight teams by 2027, with the potential to extend the competition to Canada under consideration.

While the United States cricket team has recently impressed the cricket world, especially in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 as the co-hosts with West Indies, their cricket board is in deep trouble, as the board is in danger of a suspension from the International Cricket Council (ICC). Here, we are going through the whole story briefly.  

In July 2024, the ICC sent a notice to the United States Cricket (USAC) after citing the board's lack of a "fit for purpose" governance and administrative structure. To oversee compliance and reforms of the USAC, the ICC established a normalisation committee during that notice. This governance notice has a 12-month period that will end this July, while there is very little progress in the USAC. 

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United States Cricket leadership has big issue

According to the latest TOI report source, if the USAC leadership doesn't change significantly before the upcoming ICC Annual Conference this July, the ICC is likely to suspend the USAC. Surely, it will be a terrible story for the USA cricket teams, which have just started to make some impact in world cricket, that can inspire the cricket world.  

The TOI report claimed that an ICC official stated that the situation in the USAC is unstable due to dysfunction and internal disputes. Talking about the present ICC situation, the official further added, “The ICC’s position is clear: effective governance is non-negotiable, especially ahead of cricket’s return to the Olympics at LA 2028."

Will we see some resignations from USAC?

This June, an ICC delegation visited Los Angeles for meetings with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). In their meeting with the USAC members, the ICC representative reportedly requested the board members to step down voluntarily. While some of the members are reportedly ready to resign, others haven't shown their supportive natures for the solution yet. 

Meanwhile, the TOI report has also learnt that the ICC officials' recent meetings in Los Angeles have been pushed into informal categories rather than any official talks. 

According to the TOI report, several resignations are expected from the USAC in the next few weeks to save the board from any tough sanctions from the ICC.