# Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer|  |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Country | United States and Canada |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Most championships | Cups: LA Galaxy (6) Shields: D.C. United, LA Galaxy (4 each) |
| Website | Official Site |

**Major League Soccer** (MLS) is an American soccer league that started in 1996. Since the 2025 season, the league has been made up of 30 teams. The commissioner of the league (the person in charge) is Don Garber.

MLS, founded in the United States, is a fully professional league with 30 teams, three of which are based in Canada. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF or U.S. Soccer), which runs soccer in that country, considers MLS to be the country's top men's league. The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which runs soccer in Canada, considers the Canadian Premier League as its top men's league, but MLS has much greater Canadian media coverage and is seen as having a higher level of play. Referees are approved by U.S. Soccer and the CSA. In turn, both national governing bodies are members of FIFA, which governs all play between national teams and sets the rules for the sport along with the national governing bodies of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

MLS was formed in 1993 as a professional league, with play starting with 10 teams in 1996. The MLS regular season starts in late February and ends in November, with each team playing 34 games. The regular season is followed by a playoff tournament to decide the league champion. The championship game is known as the MLS Cup.

In November 2025, MLS announced that it would change to a summer-to-spring season spanning two calendar years, aligning its season with that of most European leagues, starting in July 2027. With the change, the season will start in July and take a winter break between December and February, with no league matches at all in January. The season resumes in late February and runs through April, with the MLS Cup playoffs in May. A shortened transitional season will be held from February to May 2027.

## Teams

### Current

| Team | City | Stadium | Founded | Joined | Conference | Head Coach |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Atlanta United FC | Atlanta, Georgia | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | 2014 | 2017 | Eastern Conference |  Ronny Deila |
| Austin FC | Austin, Texas | Q2 Stadium | 2019 | 2021 | Western Conference |  Nico Estévez |
| CF Montréal | Montreal, Quebec | Saputo Stadium | 2010 | 2012 | Eastern Conference |  Laurent Courtois |
| Charlotte FC | Charlotte, North Carolina | Bank of America Stadium | 2019 | 2022 | Eastern Conference |  Dean Smith |
| Chicago Fire FC | Chicago, Illinois | Soldier Field | 1997 | 1998 | Eastern Conference |  Gregg Berhalter |
| Colorado Rapids | Commerce City, Colorado | Dick's Sporting Goods Park | 1995 | 1996 | Western Conference |  Chris Armas |
| Columbus Crew | Columbus, Ohio | ScottsMiracle-Gro Field | 1994 | 1996 | Eastern Coference |  Wilfried Nancy |
| D.C. United | Washington, D.C. | Audi Field | 1994 | 1996 | Eastern Conference |  Troy Lesesne |
| FC Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | TQL Stadium | 2018 | 2019 | Eastern Conference |  Pat Noonan |
| F.C. Dallas | Frisco, Texas | Toyota Stadium | 1995 | 1996 | Western Conference |  Eric Quill |
| Houston Dynamo | Houston, Texas | Shell Energy Stadium | 2005 | 2006 | Western Conference |  Ben Olsen |
| Inter Miami CF | Miami, Florida | Nu Stadium | 2018 | 2020 | Eastern Conference |  Guillermo Hoyos |
| Los Angeles FC | Los Angeles, California | BMO Stadium | 2014 | 2018 | Western Conference |  Steve Cherundolo |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Carson, California | Dignity Health Sports Park | 1994 | 1996 | Western Conference |  Greg Vanney |
| Minnesota United FC | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Allianz Field | 2015 | 2017 | Western Conference |  Eric Ramsey |
| Nashville SC | Nashville, Tennessee | Geodis Park | 2017 | 2020 | Eastern Conference |  B. J. Callaghan |
| New England Revolution | Foxborough, Massachusetts | Gillette Stadium | 1994 | 1996 | Eastern Conference |  Caleb Porter |
| New York City F.C. | New York City, New York (Bronx) | Yankee Stadium | 2013 | 2015 | Eastern Conference |  Pascal Jansen |
| New York Red Bulls | Harrison, New Jersey | Sports Illustrated Stadium | 1994 | 1996 | Eastern Conference |  Sandro Schwarz |
| Orlando City SC | Orlando, Florida | Inter&Co Stadium | 2013 | 2015 | Eastern Conference |  Óscar Pareja |
| Philadelphia Union | Chester, Pennsylvania | Subaru Park | 2008 | 2010 | Eastern Conference |  Bradley Carnell |
| Portland Timbers | Portland, Oregon | Providence Park | 2009 | 2011 | Western Conference |  Phil Neville |
| Real Salt Lake | Sandy, Utah | America First Field | 2004 | 2005 | Western Conference |  Pablo Mastroeni |
| San Diego FC | San Diego, California | Snapdragon Stadium | 2023 | 2025 | Western Conference |  Mikey Varas |
| St. Louis City SC | St. Louis, Missouri | Energizer Park | 2019 | 2023 | Western Conference |  Olof Mellberg |
| San Jose Earthquakes | San Jose, California | PayPal Park | 1994 | 1996 | Western Conference |  Bruce Arena |
| Seattle Sounders F.C. | Seattle, Washington | Lumen Field | 2007 | 2009 | Western Conference |  Brian Schmetzer |
| Sporting Kansas City | Kansas City, Kansas | Children's Mercy Park | 1995 | 1996 | Western Conference |  Peter Vermes |
| Toronto F.C. | Toronto, Ontario | BMO Field | 2005 | 2007 | Eastern Conference |  Robin Fraser |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | Vancouver, British Columbia | BC Place | 2009 | 2011 | Western Conference |  Jesper Sørensen |

### Former teams

| Team | City | Last Stadium | Founded | Joined | Left MLS | Dissolved | Conference |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Tampa, Florida | Raymond James Stadium | 1994 | 1996 | 2001 | 2002 | Central Conference |
| Miami Fusion | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Lockhart Stadium | 1997 | 1998 | 2001 | 2002 | Eastern Conference |
| Chivas USA | Carson, California | StubHub Center | 2004 | 2005 | 2014 | 2014 | Western Conference |

## MLS Cup winners

|  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Season | Champions | Runner-up |
| 1996 | D.C. United | LA Galaxy |
| 1997 | D.C. United | Colorado Rapids |
| 1998 | Chicago Fire | DC United |
| 1999 | D.C. United | LA Galaxy |
| 2000 | Kansas City Wizards | Chicago Fire |
| 2001 | San Jose Earthquakes | LA Galaxy |
| 2002 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution |
| 2003 | San Jose Earthquakes | Chicago Fire |
| 2004 | D.C. United | Kansas City Wizards |
| 2005 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution |
| 2006 | Houston Dynamo | New England Revolution |
| 2007 | Houston Dynamo | New England Revolution |
| 2008 | Columbus Crew | New York Red Bulls |
| 2009 | Real Salt Lake | LA Galaxy |
| 2010 | Colorado Rapids | FC Dallas |
| 2011 | LA Galaxy | Houston Dynamo |
| 2012 | LA Galaxy | Houston Dynamo |
| 2013 | Sporting Kansas City | Real Salt Lake |
| 2014 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution |
| 2015 | Portland Timbers | Columbus Crew SC |
| 2016 | Seattle Sounders FC | Toronto FC |
| 2017 | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2018 | Atlanta United FC | Portland Timbers |
| 2019 | Seattle Sounders FC | Toronto FC |
| 2020 | Columbus Crew SC | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2021 | New York City FC | Portland Timbers |
| 2022 | Los Angeles FC | Philadelphia Union |
| 2023 | Columbus Crew | Los Angeles FC |
| 2024 | LA Galaxy | New York Red Bulls |
| 2025 | Inter Miami CF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |

## Related pages

* USL Championship

* Best Players in Major league Soccer (MLS) in 2012. hub, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
* Major League Soccer. Archived 2017-05-24 at the Wayback Machine Princeton, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
* An Overview of American Soccer History. Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Dave Litterer, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
* Soccer Politics / The Politics of Football. Duke University, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.