Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer
Country	United States Canada
Confederation	CONCACAF
Founded	17 December 1993
Divisions	Eastern Conference Western Conference
Number of teams	29
Relegation to	None
Level on pyramid	1
Domestic cup(s)	U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship
CONCACAF cup(s)	CONCACAF Champions League Campeones Cup
Current champions	FC Cincinnati (1st title) (2023)
Most successful club	LA Galaxy (5 titles)
TV	Apple TV Fox Sports Univision Deportes (TUDN) TSN/RDS
Website	Official website
2024 MLS season

Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league representing the sport's highest level in both the United States and Canada. MLS constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada. The league is composed of 20 teams—17 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada. The MLS regular season runs from March to October, with each team playing 34 games; the team with the best record is awarded the Supporters' Shield. The post season includes twelve teams competing in the MLS Cup Playoffs through November and December, culminating in the championship game, the MLS Cup. MLS teams also play in other competitions against teams from other divisions and countries, such as the U.S. Open Cup, the Canadian Championship, and the CONCACAF Champions League. MLS is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer).

Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 as part of the United States' successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The first season took place in 1996 with ten teams. MLS experienced financial and operational struggles in its first few years: The league lost millions of dollars, teams played in mostly empty American football stadiums, and two teams folded in 2002. Since then, MLS has expanded to 24 teams, owners have built soccer-specific stadiums, average attendance at MLS matches exceeds that of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL), MLS secured national TV contracts, and the league is now profitable.

Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, MLS is a single entity in which each team is owned and controlled by the league's investors. The investor-operators control their teams as owners control teams in other leagues, and are commonly (but inaccurately) referred to as the team's owners. The league's closed membership makes it one of the world's few soccer leagues that does not use promotion and relegation, which is uncommon in North America. MLS headquarters are in New York City.

Teams

The 29 teams of Major League Soccer are divided between the Eastern and Western conferences. MLS has regularly expanded since the 2005 season, most recently with the addition of St. Louis City SC for the 2023 season. A team from San Diego is planned to enter the league in 2025.

The league features numerous rivalry cups that are contested by two or more teams, usually geographic rivals.Each trophy is awarded to the team with the best record in matches during the regular season involving the participating teams. The concept is comparable to rivalry trophies played for by American college football teams.

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Founded	Joined	Head coach
Eastern Conference
Atlanta United FC	Atlanta, Georgia	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	42,500	2014	2017	Gonzalo Pineda
Charlotte FC	Charlotte, North Carolina	Bank of America Stadium	38,000	2019	2022	Christian Lattanzio
Chicago Fire FC	Chicago, Illinois	Soldier Field	24,995	1997	1998	Frank Klopas (interim)
FC Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio	TQL Stadium	26,000	2015	2019	Pat Noonan
Columbus Crew	Columbus, Ohio	Lower.com Field	20,371	1994	1996	Wilfried Nancy
D.C. United	Washington, D.C.	Audi Field	20,000	1994	1996	Wayne Rooney
Inter Miami CF	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	DRV PNK Stadium	21,000	2018	2020	Gerardo Martino
CF Montréal	Montreal, Quebec	Saputo Stadium	19,619	1992	2012	Hernán Losada
Nashville SC	Nashville, Tennessee]	Geodis Park	30,000	2016	2020	Gary Smith
New England Revolution	Foxborough, Massachusetts	Gillette Stadium	20,000	1995	1996	Richie Williams (interim)
New York City FC	New York City, New York	Yankee Stadium	30,321	2013	2015	Nick Cushing
New York Red Bulls	harrison, New Jersey	Red Bull Arena	25,000	1994	1996	Troy Lesesne
Orlando City SC	Orlando, Florida	Exploria Stadium	25,500	2010	2015	Óscar Pareja
Philadelphia Union	Chester, Pennsylvania	Subaru Park	18,500	2008	2010	Jim Curtin
Toronto FC	Toronto, Ontario	BMO Field	28,351	2005	2007	John Herdman
Western Conference
Austin FC	Austin, Texas	Q2 Stadium	20,738	2018	2021	Josh Wolff
Colorado Rapids	Commerce City, Colorado	Dick's Sporting Goods Park	18,061	1995	1996	Chris Little (interim)
FC Dallas	Frisco, Texas	Toyota Stadium	19,096	1995	1996	Nico Estévez
Houston Dynamo FC	Houston, Texas	Shell Energy Stadium	22,039	2005	2006	Ben Olsen
Sporting Kansas City	Kansas City, Kansas	Children's Mercy Park	18,467	1995	1996	Peter Vermes
LA Galaxy	Carson, California	Dignity Health Sports Park	27,000	1994	1996	Greg Vanney
Los Angeles FC	Los Angeles, California	BMO Stadium	22,000	2014	2018	Steve Cherundolo
Minnesota United FC	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Allianz Field	19,400	2010	2017	Sean McAuley (interim)
Portland Timbers	Portland, Oregon	Providence Park	25,218	1975	2011	Miles Joseph (interim)
Real Salt Lake	Sandy, Utah	America First Field	20,213	2004	2005	Pablo Mastroeni
San Jose Earthquakes	San Jose, California	PayPal Park	18,000	1974	1996	Luchi Gonzalez
Seattle Sounders FC	Seattle, Washington	Lumen Field	37,722	1973	2009	Brian Schmetzer
St. Louis City SC	St. Louis, Missouri	CityPark	22,423	2019	2023	Bradley Carnell
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Vancouver, British Columbia	BC Place	22,120	1973	2011	Vanni Sartini

Future teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Conference	Capacity	Founded	Joining	Head coach
San Diego team	San Diego, California	Snapdragon Stadium	Western	35,000	2023	2025	TBA
Pittsburgh FC	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Highmark Stadium	Eastern	39,140	2019	2025	TBA

Former teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Final season
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Tampa, Florida	Raymond James Stadium	65,657	2001
Miami Fusion	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Lockhart Stadium	17,417	2001
Chivas USA	Carson, California	StubHub Center	18,800	2014

Notes

¹ Shared facility; not a soccer-specific stadium

² Standard reduced capacity for soccer; can be increased

³ Interim manager

External links

• Official website

Football in the United States

League competitions The USSF Cup competitions Major League Soccer United States Open Cup North American Soccer League (U-23) (U-20) (U-17) MLS Cup United Soccer League List of clubs Southwest Cup List of stadiums George F. Donnelly Cup List of leagues