Toronto FC's Dwayne De Rosario is just one of several hundreds of MLS players who would be affected by a work stoppage. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

With Major League Soccer's collective bargaining agreement set to run out, there is a real possibility a players strike or lockout could wipe out the 2010 MLS season.

Both the league and the players union have publicly said little about the status of negotiations in the past two weeks, but one MLS official is hopeful a work stoppage can be avoided before the current labour agreement expires Jan. 31.

"I can tell you that the league and club owners are in active discussions with the MLS Players Union and we are hopeful that a mutually beneficial solution will be reached," Dan Courtemanche, a senior vice-president with MLS, wrote in an email Thursday to CBCSports.ca.

Courtemanche said MLS commissioner Don Garber and other league officials travelled to Washington, D.C., three times in the last 11 days to meet with members of the players union, and discussions continue between the two sides.

With the current agreement not expiring until Jan. 31, there is still time to complete a new deal, Courtemanche added.

Bob Foose, executive director of the MLS players union, confirmed that the union and the league are in discussions.

"We have advised our players to report to camp as planned. In the meantime, we will continue to meet with the league to determine if an agreement can be reached. As of this date, however, we have no agreement on a new CBA," Foose wrote in an email to CBCSports.ca.

Time is still of the essence, since most MLS teams are scheduled to open their pre-season training camps in early February, and the 2010 regular season begins March 25.

Courtemanche's comments sound much more hopeful than those recently made by FIFPro, soccer's international union, which represents more than 50,000 players, including members of the MLS players union.

Lockout talk 'premature'

Earlier this month, FIFPro accused the league of threatening to lock out players when their five-year contract expires.

"It is difficult to understand why the owners would take this course, when all we are asking for are the same rights enjoyed by other players around the world, not just in the biggest leagues, but in leagues of all sizes," Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan said in a statement released by FIFPro on Jan. 5.

MLS president Mark Abbott disputed FIFPro's claim.

"Any discussion about a lockout, players strike or other work stoppage is premature and frankly counter-productive to our ongoing mutual commitment to reach an agreement," Abbott said.

Issues at the heart of the dispute are the structure of contracts and the security and freedom of players.

MLS is a single-entity structure, which means all players sign with the league rather than individual teams. The union alleges that close to 80 per cent of players in MLS are on non-guaranteed contracts.

Under the terms of the current labour agreement, players can be transferred to another club without their consent. Even when a player is released from his contract, he's not free to sign with another team in the league.

"We don't want a strike, but we're the only league in the world where players are not on guaranteed contracts," Toronto FC defender Nick Garcia said last October at the end of the 2009 MLS season.

Any type of work stoppage could be disastrous for MLS in a year when the expansion Philadelphia Union are slated to join the league as the 16th franchise and when the FIFA World Cup in South Africa will garner the attention of the majority of soccer fans in the United States and Canada.