Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men’s professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation. It is one of the most prominent and highest-level soccer tournaments in the USA and Canada. The league comprises 30 teams, with 27 from the United States and 3 from Canada, making it the largest sports league in both nations.
The league was founded on December 17, 1993, and the first season was played in 1996 with 10 teams. The initial years were a difficult experience for the tournament, during which the league lost millions of dollars.
Currently, Major League Soccer (MLS) is one of the top major sports leagues in the United States and has the third-highest average attendance among all sports leagues. It began in 1996 with 10 teams, although 2 teams folded in 2002. As of now, MLS has expanded to 30 teams and is ranked second in the most-attended soccer leagues in the world behind the English Premier League.
The football tournament, which takes place during the regular season from March to October, features 30 teams divided into two geographical groups: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, each containing 15 teams. For each team, a total of 28 players are eligible for selection to the roster, while only 18 players can be included in the game squad.
Information about the League Soccer (MLS) Clubs
Table of Contents
As of 2024 MLS, there are 29 teams in the league, with one more joining in 2025 MLS. The largest football tournament in the US takes place annually from March to October. The broadcasting rights are held by Fox Sports, Univision Networks, and ESPN, with an estimated average value of $90 million per season. This tournament is also featured in the FIFA video game series, EA Sports FC and the Football Manager series.
The regular season starts in mid-February or March and ends in November, and each team plays 34 games.
Lionel Messi, Olivier Giroud, Luis Suárez, Chris Wondolowski, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Josef Martínez, Luciano Acosta, Marco Reus, Riqui Puig, Wayne Rooney, Kei Kamara, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sacha Kljestan, Nick Rimando, Dom Dwyer, and Kyle Beckerman are some of the big football stars in US Football.
About MLS
- Total Teams – 30
- United States -27 teams
- Canada – 3 teams
- Confederation:
- Current MLS Cup Champion: LA Galaxy
- Current Supporters’ Shield: Inter Miami CF (1st title)
- Most Winner
- MLS Cups: LA Galaxy (6 titles)
- Supporters’ Shields: D.C. United, LA Galaxy (4 shields each)
- Top goalscorers: Chris Wondolowski (171)
- Top appearances: Nick Rimando (514)
Major League Soccer Season Structure
- Regular Season
- February – October
- Divided into two conferences – Eastern Conference and Western Conference
- All teams play 34 matches in Home and Away
- The best Team in the Points Table wins the “Supporters’ Shield“
- MLS Cup Playoffs
- October – December
- 18 Teams will participate (the Top 9 teams from each conference)
- From both Conferences – the 8th and 9th seed team’s elimination
- Seeds 1st to 7th in each conference automatically qualify for the Round One Best-of-3 series
- Single-elimination matches will be played in this round
- Higher-seeded teams host matches
- Conference Finals
- Four teams will play single-elimination (Best two teams from each conference)
- MLS Cup Final
- Winner of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference
Major League Soccer (MLS) Current Season
The 2025 Major League Soccer season is the 30th running season of the MLS tournaments. In the current season, there will be a short break for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
MLS Eastern Conference table (2025)
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia Union | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 22 | +17 | 46 |
| 2 | FC Cincinnati | 23 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 38 | 31 | +7 | 45 |
| 3 | Nashville SC | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 41 | 25 | +16 | 44 |
| 4 | Columbus Crew | 23 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 38 | 32 | +6 | 41 |
| 5 | Inter Miami | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 38 |
| 6 | Orlando City | 23 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 35 |
| 7 | New York City FC | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 34 |
| 8 | New York Red Bulls | 23 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 33 |
| 9 | Charlotte FC | 23 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 32 |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 29 |
| 11 | New England Revolution | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 30 | −1 | 25 |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 29 | −4 | 21 |
| 13 | Atlanta United | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 20 |
| 14 | DC United | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 43 | −24 | 19 |
| 15 | CF Montréal | 23 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 43 | −23 | 15 |
MLS Western Conference table (2025)
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 23 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 46 |
| 2 | Vancouver | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 41 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 23 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 40 |
| 4 | Seattle | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 36 |
| 5 | LAFC | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 24 | +12 | 35 |
| 6 | Portland | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 34 |
| 7 | Austin | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 23 | −7 | 30 |
| 8 | Colorado | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 29 |
| 9 | San Jose | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 29 |
| 10 | Real Salt Lake | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 26 |
| 11 | Houston | 23 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 26 |
| 12 | Sporting KC | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 23 |
| 13 | Dallas | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 22 |
| 14 | St. Louis | 24 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 35 | 47 | −12 | 18 |
| 15 | LA Galaxy | 23 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 24 | 44 | −20 | 15 |
Winners of the MLS Cup History
Here are the updated winners and runner-up teams of the MLS Cup, provided in the table.
| Season | Winner Team | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | DC United | Los Angeles Galaxy | 3–2 (OT) |
| 1997 | DC United | Colorado Rapids | 2–1 |
| 1998 | Chicago Fire | DC United | 2–0 |
| 1999 | DC United | Los Angeles Galaxy | 2–0 |
| 2000 | Kansas City Wizards | Chicago Fire | 1–0 |
| 2001 | San Jose Earthquakes | Los Angeles Galaxy | 2–1 (OT) |
| 2002 | Los Angeles Galaxy | New England Revolution | 1–0 |
| 2003 | San Jose Earthquakes | Chicago Fire | 4–2 |
| 2004 | DC United | Kansas City Wizards | 3–2 |
| 2005 | Los Angeles Galaxy | New England Revolution | 1–0 (OT) |
| 2006 | Houston Dynamo | New England Revolution | 1–1* |
| 2007 | Houston Dynamo | New England Revolution | 2–1 |
| 2008 | Columbus Crew | New York Red Bulls | 3–1 |
| 2009 | Real Salt Lake | Los Angeles Galaxy | 1–1* |
| 2010 | Colorado Rapids | FC Dallas | 2–1 (OT) |
| 2011 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Houston Dynamo | 1–0 |
| 2012 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Houston Dynamo | 3–1 |
| 2013 | Sporting Kansas City | Real Salt Lake | 1–1* |
| 2014 | Los Angeles Galaxy | New England Revolution | 2–1 |
| 2015 | Portland Timbers | Columbus Crew | 2–1 |
| 2016 | Seattle Sounders | Toronto FC | 0–0* |
| 2017 | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders | 2–0 |
| 2018 | Atlanta United | Portland Timbers | 2–0 |
| 2019 | Seattle Sounders | Toronto FC | 3–1 |
| 2020 | Columbus Crew | Seattle Sounders | 3–0 |
| 2021 | New York City FC | Portland Timbers | 1–1* |
| 2022 | Los Angeles FC | Philadelphia Union | 3–3* |
| 2023 | Columbus Crew | Los Angeles FC | 2–1 |
| 2024 | LA Galaxy | New York Red Bulls | 2–1 |
| 2025 | TBD | TBD | |
| *Won on penalty kicks. | |||
