Of the 26 Major League Soccer teams, 24 participated in the tournament; FC Dallas and Nashville SC withdrew after several of their players tested positive for COVID-19 just before their first matches.

[9] The tournament was planned to feature 54 matches (later reduced to 51 following the withdrawal of FC Dallas) played on 26 days, all taking place behind closed doors without spectators at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida.

However, following the withdrawal of FC Dallas and Nashville SC from the tournament, a revised structure for the group stage was announced on July 9, 2020.

If a knockout match was tied at the end of regulation, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (no extra time was played).

Additionally, teams were allowed to make up to five substitutions in a match, following a temporary amendment to the Laws of the Game by IFAB in order to lessen the impact of fixture congestion caused by the pandemic.

As a one-time change, this berth replaced the one normally awarded to the regular season conference champion that did not win the Supporters' Shield.

[2] Major League Soccer announced a medical protocol, in consultation with experts, to be used for the tournament to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches, officials, and staff.

This included testing for COVID-19 prior to and throughout the tournament, wearing a face covering or mask, and social distancing to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 from occurring.

All individuals who tested positive underwent a clinical assessment by a healthcare provider and moved to an isolation area of the hotel until they were medically cleared.

[16] On July 6, 2020, FC Dallas withdrew from the tournament due to ten players and one staff member of the club testing positive for COVID-19,[17] after their opening match was initially postponed.

[18] On July 9, 2020, Nashville SC were also withdrawn from the tournament after nine players of the club tested positive for the virus,[10] after their opening match was initially postponed.

[19] On July 12, the match between Toronto FC and D.C. United was postponed just minutes prior to kickoff after at least one player was tested positive for COVID-19.

The game was rescheduled for the following day on July 13, while the two players who received the positive and inconclusive test were both medically cleared to resume activities.

[27] Inter Miami CF was automatically assigned to Group A in order to face rival Florida club Orlando City SC in the opening match of the competition.

In this stage, if a match was tied at the end of 90 minutes of normal playing time, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winners.

The Goal and Save of the Tournament were determined by the editorial team of MLSsoccer.com shortlisting eight candidates, with the final result chosen by online fan voting.

[40] All games in the tournament were produced by ESPN as host broadcaster, and were televised by Major League Soccer's media partners in the United States, Canada, and worldwide.

A large chroma key wall was erected at each field in place of grandstands, which was used for displaying in-game sponsor logos.