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 established on December 17, 1993, and its inaugural season took place in 1996 with 10 teams. The early years were challenging for the league, leading to significant financial losses amounting to 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
Major League Soccer (MLS) expanded to 30 clubs with the addition of San Diego FC for the 2025 season, and the league continues with 30 teams for the 2026 campaign.
The MLS regular season usually kicks off in late February and runs until mid-October, with the MLS Cup playoffs taking place in November and December.
Since 2023, Apple TV’s “MLS Season Pass” has held the primary global streaming rights to every MLS match under a long-term agreement; in the U.S., some linear broadcast windows are carried by Fox Sports and TelevisaUnivision under separate deals.
MLS content and matches are also integrated into major football gaming franchises — MLS partnerships with EA Sports mean league features appear in EA Sports FC products, and the competition is represented within the Football Manager ecosystem.
The regular season starts in mid-February or March and ends in November, and each team plays 34 games.
Major League Soccer (MLS) now features a strong mix of global superstars and elite performers. Big names such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Olivier Giroud headline US football, alongside top MLS stars like Luciano Acosta, Riqui Puig, Denis Bouanga, and Hany Mukhtar.
About MLS
- Total Teams – 30
- United States -27 teams
- Canada – 3 teams
- Confederation: CONCACAF
- First league – 1996
- Current MLS Cup Champion: Inter Miami CF (1st title)(2025)
- Current Supporters’ Shield: Philadelphia Union (2nd shield) (2025)
- 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 teams’ 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 (the 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 was the 30th season of the MLS tournaments. The two big tournaments held last year were the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
During the 2026 season, Major League Soccer will take a short break for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
MLS Eastern Conference table (2026)
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville SC | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 35 | 14 | +21 | 40 |
| 2 | Inter Miami CF | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 38 |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 28 | 21 | +7 | 30 |
| 4 | Chicago Fire FC | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 32 | 23 | +9 | 29 |
| 5 | New York City FC | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 26 |
| 6 | FC Cincinnati | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 26 |
| 7 | Charlotte FC | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 25 |
| 8 | New York Red Bulls | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 29 | 39 | −10 | 25 |
| 9 | D.C. United | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 23 |
| 10 | Orlando City SC | 18 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 20 |
| 11 | Columbus Crew | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 20 |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 32 | −8 | 17 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Union | 18 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 16 |
| 14 | CF Montréal | 18 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 24 | 35 | −11 | 16 |
| 15 | Atlanta United FC | 18 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 33 | −14 | 12 |
MLS Western Conference table (2026)
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 34 |
| 2 | Los Angeles FC | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 35 | 19 | +16 | 34 |
| 3 | San Jose Earthquakes | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 33 |
| 4 | Houston Dynamo FC | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 29 |
| 5 | Real Salt Lake | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 27 |
| 6 | FC Dallas | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 27 |
| 7 | St. Louis City SC | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 26 |
| 8 | Portland Timbers | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 24 |
| 9 | Seattle Sounders FC | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 22 | −2 | 24 |
| 10 | Minnesota United FC | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 25 | −5 | 24 |
| 11 | Colorado Rapids | 18 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 27 | 25 | +2 | 22 |
| 12 | LA Galaxy | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 22 |
| 13 | San Diego FC | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 21 |
| 14 | Austin FC | 18 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 17 |
| 15 | Sporting Kansas City | 18 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 46 | −28 | 14 |
Winners of the MLS Cup History
The table shows the updated winners and runner-up teams of the MLS Cup.
| 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 | Inter Miami CF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3–1 |
| *Won on penalty kicks. | |||
All-time Top Goal Scorer Players
- Chris Wondolowski – USA – 171 Goals
- Kei Kamara – Sierra Leone – 147 Goals
- Landon Donovan – USA – 145 Goals
- Jeff Cunningham – USA – 134 Goals
All-time Top Assists Players
- Landon Donovan – USA – 136 Assists
- Steve Ralston – USA – 135 Assists
- Brad Davis – USA – 123 Assists
- Carlos Valderrama- Colombia – 114 Assists
