Major League Soccer teams have participated in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (formerly the CONCACAF Champions League from 2008 to 2023) each season since 1997. , a maximum of ten MLS teams can qualify to the CONCACAF Champions Cup each season — one from the US Open Cup, one from the Canadian Championship, three through the Leagues Cup berths, and five through Major League Soccer.

Under the Champions Cup's updated format starting in 2008–09, the first MLS team to finish first in its group was Real Salt Lake in 2010.

The first Champions League title won by an MLS side occurred in 2022, when Seattle Sounders FC defeated Mexico's UNAM 5–2 on aggregate in the final. Seattle was therefore the first MLS side to participate at the FIFA Club World Cup. Real Salt Lake, CF Montréal, Toronto FC, Los Angeles FC, Columbus Crew and Vancouver Whitecaps FC all also reached the final, with Real Salt Lake losing to Monterrey in 2011, CF Montréal to América in 2015, Toronto FC to Guadalajara in 2018, Los Angeles FC to UANL in 2020, León in 2023, Columbus Crew to Pachuca in 2024 and Vancouver Whitecaps FC to Cruz Azul in 2025, respectively.

Performance by round The following table shows the number of MLS participants in the Champions Cup each season, as well as the number of MLS teams that have reached various stages in the knockout rounds. MLS teams performed poorly during the first two years, as fixture congestion from the Superliga tournament as well as CONCACAF Champions League preliminary rounds meant that MLS teams often fielded teams without their first choice players.

Beginning in 2018, the Champions League format was changed to eliminate group play and the knockout round started with sixteen teams rather than eight. Beginning in 2024, the format was expanded to include five knockout rounds and twenty-seven teams.

Tournament Participants Quarter-finalists Semi-finalists Finalists Champions 1997 2 2 2 1 — 1998 2 1 1 1 1 1999 3 2 2 — — 2000 2 2 2 1 1 2002 4 3 1 — — 2003 4 2 — — — 2004 2 2 1 — — 2005 2 2 1 — — 2006 2 2 — — — 2007 2 2 2 — — 2008 2 2 2 — — 2008–09 4 1 — — — 2009–10 5 1 — — — 2010–11 5 2 1 1 — 2011–12 5 3 1 — — 2012–13 5 3 2 — — 2013–14 5 3 — — — 2014–15 5 2 1 1 — 2015–16 5 4 — — — 2016–17 5 3 2 — — 2018 5 3 2 1 — 2019 5 4 1 — — 2020 5 4 1 1 — 2021 5 5 1 — — 2022 5 4 2 1 1 2023 5 3 2 1 — 2024 10 3 1 1 — 2025 10 4 2 1 — 2026 9 4 2 — —

Notes: MLS sent only four teams to the Champions League in 2008–09 because the Canadian team, the Montreal Impact, played in the USL First Division at the time.

Performance by opposition in knockout series The following table shows the performance of MLS teams in the knockout rounds for each home-and-away series for opponents from various leagues. During the first nine seasons of the Champions League, MLS teams did not play any foreign teams in knockout stage other than Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama. With the change in tournament format in the 2018 season, specifically with the knockout rounds now including a round of 16, MLS teams have played knockout matches against a greater variety of countries.

In the Champions Cup knockout rounds, MLS teams have played Mexican teams more than any other country, in some years facing multiple matchups. Seattle's 2013 quarter-final win over Mexico's UANL was the first time since the Champions League format began in 2008–09 that an MLS team eliminated a Mexican team in the knockout rounds. Montreal repeated the feat in 2015 when they beat Mexico's Pachuca in the quarter-finals. In 2018, Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls both advanced to the semi-finals by beating Mexican teams, the first time that two MLS teams eliminated two Mexican teams in the same tournament. In 2020, Los Angeles FC became the first MLS team to eliminate three Mexican teams in the same tournament — beating Mexican opponents in the Round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, before losing in the final to a Mexican team. MLS' improved performance against Mexican teams was attributed to MLS club academies focused on player development, and an increase in player salaries through the league's Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) program.

Tournament Mexico Trinidadand Tobago El Salvador Honduras Costa Rica Guatemala Panama Jamaica Dominican Republic Nicaragua Haiti Canada 1997 0–1 1–0 1–0 — — — — — — — — — 1998 2–0 1–0 — — — — — — — — — — 1999 0–1 1–0 — 1–0 0–1 — — — — — — — 2000 — — — 2–0 1–0 — — — — — — — 2002 1–3 1–0 — 1–0 — 1–0 — — — — — — 2003 0–2 — — 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 — — — — — 2004 — 1–0 — — 0–2 — — — — — — — 2005 0–1 — — — 0–1 — — 1–0 — — — — 2006 — — — — 0–2 — — — — — — — 2007 0–2 — — 1–0 1–0 — — — — — — — 2008 0–1 — — — 0–1 1–0 — 1–0 — — — — Subtotal 3–11 5–0 1–0 6–0 2–8 2–1 1–0 2–0 — — — — 2008–09 0–1 — — — — — — — — — — — 2009–10 0–1 — — — — — — — — — — — 2010–11 0–1 — — — 1–0 — — — — — — — 2011–12 0–2 — — — — — — — — — — — 2012–13 1–3 — — — 1–0 — — — — — — — 2013–14 0–3 — — — — — — — — — — — 2014–15 1–1 — — — 1–1 — — — — — — — 2015–16 0–4 — — — — — — — — — — — 2016–17 0–2 — — — — — 1–0 — — — — — Subtotal 2–18 — — — 3–1 — 1–0 — — — — — 2018 3–3 — 1–0 1–0 — — 0–1 — — — — — 2019 1–4 — — — 1–0 1–0 1–1 — 1–0 — — — 2020 3–3 — — 1–2 2–0 — — — — — — — 2021 1–4 — — 1–0 2–0 — — — — 1–0 — — 2022 3–2 — — 1–0 1–0 1–1 — — — — 1–0 — 2023 1–2 — 1–0 1–0 1–0 — — — — — 0–1 — 2024 2–7 — — — 2–0 — 1–0 1–0 1–0 — — 1–0 2025 2–4 — — 1–0 2–1 1–0 — 1–0 — — — — 2026 3–7 1–0 — 1–0 2–0 — 1–0 1–0 1–0 — — 1–0 Subtotal 19–36 1–0 2–0 7–2 13–1 3–1 3–2 3–0 3–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 Totals 24–65 (27%) 6–0 (100%) 3–0 (100%) 13–2 (87%) 18–10 (64%) 5–2 (71%) 5–2 (71%) 5–0 (100%) 2–0 (100%) 1–0 (100%) 1–1 (50%) 2–0 (100%)

CONCACAF Club Ranking In 2023, CONCACAF released a new club ranking system ahead of the revamped Champions Cup and regional competitions. It replaced the former CONCACAF Club Index as the method used to seed clubs in international competitions. A modified Elo rating system, MLS teams receive updated ratings from results in MLS, Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, US Open Cup, and Club World Cup matches, with more weight placed on international matches.

RankChangeClubPoints1 Toluca 1,2912 Cruz Azul1,2553 Tigres UANL1,2544 America 1,2365 Guadalajara1,2306 Los Angeles FC1,2307 Nashville SC1,2278 Inter Miami CF1,2179 Monterrey 1,21010 León1,20811 Pachuca 1,20612 Seattle Sounders FC 1,20413 Columbus Crew1,20114 Vancouver Whitecaps FC1,19615 FC Dallas1,19616 Pumas UNAM 1,19517 Chicago Fire FC1,19218 Charlotte FC1,19219 FC Cincinnati1,19220 Philadelphia Union1,190

Performance by team As of 2024, 27 MLS teams have appeared in the CONCACAF Champions Cup since MLS began sending teams to the competition in 1997.

Seattle Sounders FC became champions in 2022, ending Liga MX's winning streak in the competition since 2006. They were the fifth MLS club to make it to the final, following Real Salt Lake in 2011, Montreal Impact in 2015, Toronto FC in 2018 and Los Angeles FC in 2020.

Canadian teams in MLS – CF Montréal, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC – qualify to the Champions Cup via a separate competition, the Canadian Championship, and they represent the Canadian Soccer Association. Starting in 2024, all three Canadian teams may also qualify through MLS or Leagues Cup. MLS standings were used for Canadian teams qualification only twice: the 2014 season to determine the 2015–16 Champions League representative, as the Canadian Championship format was changed that season, and the 2020 season to determine the 2021 Champions League representative, as the 2020 Canadian Championship was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting in 2018, the group stage was removed, so MLS teams now started in the Round of 16 (first round). Starting in 2024, one or two MLS teams receive byes to the round of 16 (second round) while others enter in the first round of 22 teams.

Team Best Result Atlanta United FC 3 8 4 1 3 11 10 +1 Austin FC 1 2 1 0 1 2 3 –1 Chivas USA* 1 2 0 1 1 1 3 –2 Chicago Fire 3 11 6 2 3 18 14 +4 FC Cincinnati 3 12 6 2 4 31 14 +17 Colorado Rapids 5 14 5 2 7 15 21 –6 Columbus Crew 6 29 12 7 10 37 42 –5 FC Dallas 3 18 9 3 6 27 25 +2 D.C. United 12 52 24 12 16 84 71 +13 Houston Dynamo FC 8 40 15 11 14 48 48 0 Inter Miami CF 3 14 6 3 5 20 17 +3 LA Galaxy 12 54 23 14 17 89 70 +19 Los Angeles FC 4 27 15 3 9 48 28 +20 CF Montréalǂ 4 22 8 7 7 27 26 +1 Nashville SC 2 12 5 4 3 19 8 +11 New England Revolution 5 14 5 2 7 18 25 –7 New York City FC 2 10 5 1 4 19 17 +2 New York Red Bulls 5 22 8 8 6 27 19 +8 Orlando City SC 2 6 2 3 1 9 6 +3 Philadelphia Union 4 20 8 7 5 36 24 +12 Portland Timbers 3 12 6 3 3 31 19 +12 Real Salt Lake 4 24 11 7 6 35 24 +11 San Diego FC 1 4 2 0 2 7 8 –1 San Jose Earthquakes 4 14 7 2 5 16 16 0 Seattle Sounders FC 9 54 25 12 17 87 69 +18 St. Louis City SC 1 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 Sporting Kansas City 7 32 12 6 14 41 45 –4 Toronto FCǂ 7 34 14 10 10 46 45 +1 Vancouver Whitecaps FCǂ 6 31 11 8 12 41 44 –3 ǂ – team represents Canada * – team folded

+TeamApps08-0909-1010-1111-1212-1313-1414-1515-1616-17201820192020202120222023202420252026Atlanta United FC 3did not exist•QFQFQF•••••Austin FC1did not exist•R16•••Chivas USA 1PR•••••Team dissolvedFC Cincinnati3did not exist••••R16R16R16Colorado Rapids 4•••GS•••••R16•••R16••R1•Columbus Crew5•QFQF•••••••••QF••FR16•FC Dallas 3•••GS••••SFR16••••••••D.C. United 4GSGS••••QFQF••••••••••Houston Dynamo FC 6QFGS••QFGS••••QF••••R16••Inter Miami CF3did not exist•••QFSFR16LA Galaxy 7••PRQFSFQF•QF••••••••QFQFLos Angeles FC 4did not exist•F••F•QFSFCF Montréal 5QF••••GSF••••QF•QF••••Nashville SC2did not exist•••R16•SFNew England Revolution 3PR••••••••••••QF•QF••New York City FC 2did not exist•••QF•SF••••New York Red Bulls 5•PR••••GS•QFSFQF•••••••Orlando City SC2did not exist••••••R16R16••Philadelphia Union 4did not exist•••••••••SF•SFR16•R16Portland Timbers 3••••••GS•GS•••QF•••••Real Salt Lake 4••F•GS••QF••••••••R1•San Diego FC1did not existR16San Jose Earthquakes 1•••••QF••••••••••••Seattle Sounders FC 9••GSQFSF••QF•QF•R16•C••R16QFSt. Louis City SC1did not existR1••Sporting Kansas City 5•••••QFGS•GS•SF•••••R1•Toronto FC 7•PRGSSFGS••••FR16•QF•••••Vancouver Whitecaps FC 6•••••••GSSF•••••QFR1FR16

Records

Biggest win: 8 goal margin D.C. United 8–0 Joe Public (1998 Quarter-finals)

Biggest defeat: 6 goal margin Atlético Morelia 6–0 Columbus Crew (2003 Quarter-finals, first leg) Pachuca 6–0 Philadelphia Union (2024 Round of 16, second leg)

Other continental competitions MLS teams have participated in other continental competitions.

Copa Sudamericana

2005 — D.C. United played in the Round of 16, where they lost 3–4 in aggregate over two legs (1–1, 2–3) to Chile's Universidad Católica. 2007 — D.C. United played in the Round of 16, where they lost 2–2 on aggregate on away goals (2–1, 0–1) to Mexico's Guadalajara.

See also American soccer clubs in international competitions Canadian soccer clubs in international competitions

References