Major League Soccer
Professional soccer league in the United States and Canada / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States.[2][3] The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the United States and 3 in Canada—since the 2023 season.[4][5] MLS is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
 | |
| Founded | December 17, 1993; 30 years ago (1993-12-17)[1] |
|---|---|
| First season | 1996 |
| Countries | United States (26 teams) Canada (3 teams) |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Conferences | Eastern Conference Western Conference |
| Number of teams | 29 (30 in 2025) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | U.S. Open Cup Canadian Championship |
| International cup(s) | CONCACAF Champions Cup Campeones Cup Leagues Cup |
| Current MLS Cup | Columbus Crew (3rd title) (2023) |
| Current Supporters' Shield | FC Cincinnati (1st shield) (2023) |
| Most MLS Cups | LA Galaxy (5 titles) |
| Most Supporters' Shields | D.C. United LA Galaxy (4 shields each) |
| Most appearances | Nick Rimando (514) |
| Top goalscorer | Chris Wondolowski (171) |
| TV partners | MLS Season Pass (Apple TV)
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| Website | mlssoccer.com |
| Current: 2024 Major League Soccer season | |
Major League Soccer is the most recent in a series of men's premier professional national soccer leagues established in the United States and Canada. The predecessor of MLS was the North American Soccer League (NASL), which existed from 1968 until 1984.[6] MLS was founded in 1993 as part of the United States' successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[7] The inaugural season took place in 1996 with ten teams.[8] MLS experienced financial and operational struggles in its first few years, losing millions of dollars and folding two teams in 2002.[9] Since then, developments such as the proliferation of soccer-specific stadiums around the league, the implementation of the Designated Player Rule allowing teams to sign star players such as David Beckham, and national TV contracts have made MLS profitable.[10] In 2022, with an average attendance of over 21,000 per game, MLS had the fourth-highest average attendance of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, behind the National Football League (NFL) with over 69,000 fans per game, Major League Baseball (MLB) with over 26,000 fans per game, and the Canadian Football League (CFL) with over 21,700 fans per game.[11][12] MLS was the eighth-highest attended professional soccer league worldwide by 2018.[13]
The MLS regular season typically starts in late February or early March and runs through mid-October, with each team playing 34 games;[14][15] the team with the best record is awarded the Supporters' Shield. Eighteen teams compete in the postseason MLS Cup Playoffs in late October and November, culminating in the league's championship game, the MLS Cup.[16]
Instead of operating as an association of independently owned clubs, MLS is a single entity in which each team is owned by the league and individually operated by the league's investors.[17] The league has a fixed membership like most sports leagues in the United States and Canada and Mexico's Liga MX which makes it one of the few soccer leagues that does not use a promotion and relegation process.[18]
The LA Galaxy have the most MLS Cups, with five. They are also tied with D.C. United for most Supporters' Shields, with four each. The Columbus Crew are the defending champions, as they defeated Los Angeles FC 2–1 on December 9, 2023, to mark the end of the 2023 season.