Major League Soccer (MLS) is the top-flight professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada. , the league has 30 teams—27 in the United States and 3 in Canada—that are divided into the Eastern and Western conferences. The league schedule runs from spring to fall within a single calendar year unlike European leagues, which use a fall-to-spring schedule. Beginning in 2027, MLS will use a fall-to-spring schedule. The champion is determined by the MLS Cup and its playoffs, a postseason knockout tournament for the top teams in the regular season similar to those for other North American sports leagues. A separate trophy, the Supporters' Shield, is awarded by a fan-run organization to the team with the best record in the regular season. MLS has an average attendance of over 23,000 spectators at regular season matches and reached over 11 million total in 2024—among the highest for soccer leagues globally.
The United States was awarded the right to host the 1994 World Cup after it agreed to a FIFA mandate to create a new professional soccer league; the last league of its kind had been the North American Soccer League, which ceased operations in 1985. MLS was established in 1993 and debuted with 10 teams in the 1996 season, primarily played at large American football venues. The league added its first expansion teams in 1998 and the first soccer-specific stadium opened the following year in Columbus, Ohio. MLS had financial issues by the end of the decade as attendance and television ratings declined from their peak in the inaugural season; two teams were folded prior to the 2002 season and the league faced a potential bankruptcy. It began expanding again in 2005 and more teams built their own soccer-specific stadiums; the league reached 16 teams in 2010 and grew further to 20 teams in 2015 and 26 teams in 2020. , 22 of the league's 30 teams play in soccer-specific stadiums that range in capacity from 18,000 to 30,000 seats, while others use larger shared venues.
MLS teams each play 34 matches during the regular season, which runs from February to October, primarily between opponents in the same conference. The league adopted an unbalanced schedule with heavier emphasis on intra-conference matches in 2012 due to the growing number of teams and the impact of travel for players. The top nine teams from each conference qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs, a five-round tournament which culminates in the MLS Cup final in early December. Teams also play in other annual competitions during the season that are organized by MLS or other entities. These include the U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship, the respective domestic cup championships of the United States and Canada; the Leagues Cup, which features MLS teams and Liga MX teams from Mexico; and the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the regional championship for clubs in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The LA Galaxy are the most successful team in the league's history with six MLS Cup titles and four Supporters' Shields; D.C. United has four MLS Cup titles and four Supporters' Shields. The league's all-time points record was set in the 2024 season by Inter Miami CF, who had 74 points and a winning percentage of 0.765. MLS has several annual awards to recognize individual players and coaches for their accomplishments, including the Landon Donovan MVP Award for the best player in a season and the Golden Boot for the top goalscorer during the regular season. The current single-season scoring record was set by Carlos Vela, who scored 34 goals during the 2019 regular season for Los Angeles FC. MLS teams have a salary cap with exceptions for marquee players under the Designated Player Rule, which was introduced in 2007 and is used to sign international stars and young talents. Teams also have academies to develop young players and reserve squads in MLS Next Pro, the developmental league run by MLS.
Seasons + Season MLS Cup playoffs Regular season Most valuable player Champion Runners-up Avg. attendance 1996 10 D.C. United Los Angeles Galaxy Tampa Bay Mutiny 58 32 17,406 1997 10 D.C. United (2ndtitle) Colorado Rapids D.C. United 55 32 14,603 Preki 1998 12 Chicago Fire D.C. United Los Angeles Galaxy 68 32 14,312 1999 12 D.C. United (3rdtitle) Los Angeles Galaxy D.C. United (2ndtitle) 57 32 14,282 2000 12 Kansas City Wizards Chicago Fire Kansas City Wizards 57 32 13,756 2001 12 San Jose Earthquakes Los Angeles Galaxy Miami Fusion 53 14,961 2002 10 Los Angeles Galaxy New England Revolution Los Angeles Galaxy (2ndtitle) 51 28 15,821 2003 10 San Jose Earthquakes (2ndtitle) Chicago Fire Chicago Fire 53 30 14,898 Preki (2ndtitle) 2004 10 D.C. United (4thtitle) Kansas City Wizards Columbus Crew 49 30 15,559 2005 12 Los Angeles Galaxy (2ndtitle) New England Revolution San Jose Earthquakes 64 32 15,108 2006 12 Houston Dynamo New England Revolution D.C. United (3rdtitle) 55 32 15,504 2007 13 Houston Dynamo (2ndtitle) New England Revolution D.C. United (4thtitle) 55 30 16,770 2008 14 Columbus Crew New York Red Bulls Columbus Crew (2ndtitle) 57 30 16,460 2009 15 Real Salt Lake LA Galaxy Columbus Crew (3rdtitle) 49 30 16,040 2010 16 Colorado Rapids FC Dallas LA Galaxy (3rdtitle) 59 30 16,675 2011 18 LA Galaxy (3rdtitle) Houston Dynamo LA Galaxy (4thtitle) 67 34 17,872 2012 19 LA Galaxy (4thtitle) Houston Dynamo San Jose Earthquakes (2ndtitle) 66 34 18,807 2013 19 Sporting Kansas City (2ndtitle) Real Salt Lake New York Red Bulls 59 34 18,594 2014 19 LA Galaxy (5thtitle) New England Revolution Seattle Sounders FC 64 34 19,147 2015 20 Portland Timbers Columbus Crew SC New York Red Bulls (2ndtitle) 60 34 21,558 2016 20 Seattle Sounders FC Toronto FC FC Dallas 60 34 21,692 2017 22 Toronto FC Seattle Sounders FC Toronto FC 69 34 22,106 2018 23 Atlanta United FC Portland Timbers New York Red Bulls (3rdtitle) 71 34 21,873 2019 24 Seattle Sounders FC (2ndtitle) Toronto FC Los Angeles FC 72 34 21,330 2020 26 Columbus Crew SC (2ndtitle) Seattle Sounders FC Philadelphia Union 47 2021 27 New York City FC Portland Timbers New England Revolution 73 34 16,699 2022 28 Los Angeles FC Philadelphia Union Los Angeles FC (2ndtitle) 67 34 21,033 2023 29 Columbus Crew (3rdtitle) Los Angeles FC FC Cincinnati 69 34 22,111 2024 29 LA Galaxy (6thtitle) New York Red Bulls Inter Miami CF 74 34 23,234 2025 30 Inter Miami CF Vancouver Whitecaps FC Philadelphia Union 66 34 21,988 (2ndtitle)
See also List of American and Canadian soccer champions
Notes
References
External links League website