MLS cmmissioner Don Garber, above, has managed to avoid a players strike, so far. MLS cmmissioner Don Garber, above, has managed to avoid a players strike, so far. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

The start of the 2010 Major League Soccer campaign remains in jeopardy after the league and players union announced Thursday they have not reached a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The current labour pact expires Thursday, and teams are continuing to be paid and are practising. But there is a growing possibility that the regular season, scheduled to kick off on March 25, could be delayed or even wiped out entirely if the league and union don't agree to a new deal soon.

The five-year labour pact was originally due to expire Jan. 31, but had been extended twice while the two parties were bargaining.

The league has said it does not plan to lock out the players and it is prepared to begin the 2010 season under the terms of the current CBA, while continuing to negotiate with the union.

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 close to 80 per cent of players in MLS are on non-guaranteed contracts.

Under the current 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.

Proposals will increase spending: league

The union wants to secure stronger rights for players concerning contracts, and give teams more autonomy to sign players. The league argues that any type of free agency would be fiscally irresponsible.

"We have listened to the issues raised by the MLS Players Union and the league has made detailed proposals that have addressed these issues, including in the areas of economics, guaranteed contracts, options and the ability of a player to move to another MLS club if he is released by his current club," the league said in a statement.

"These proposals, which represent substantial changes from the current CBA, will significantly increase our spending and provide substantially more rights to the players."

Bob Foose, executive director of the players union, said in a statement that while he expects negotiations to resume at some point, there hasn't been "enough progress made in the negotiations to date to warrant an extension of the old agreement.

"We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of Friday they will be doing so without a CBA," said Foose. "In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continues. We are completely committed to forging real changes to the way MLS players are treated."

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.

"A lockout or a strike doesn't help anyone," Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne De Rosario recently told CBCSports.ca. "I don't think the players are asking for a whole lot. I think [our demands] are reasonable, so hopefully they'll come to a decision soon and we can get on with our jobs."