History Sandbox / MajorLeagueSoccer

The teams are listed below. All Next Pro affiliates are directly owned by their associated teams unless noted otherwise.

[[note]]As does A-League Men; Australian sports developed playoff systems on their own. Several leagues in Latin America, with Mexico's top flight of Liga MX one notable example, also determine their champions via playoffs, although all operate on a promotion/relegation system.[[/note]] Sacramento Republic FC was planned to be MLS's 30th club, but its lead investor pulled out, leaving Sacramento's bid in limbo, with San Diego FC being awarded that 30th slot in May 2023 and expected to launch in 2025. League Commissioner Don Garber has indicated that the league may eventually expand to 32 clubs.\\\

Up until 2022, no MLS club, American or Canadian, was able to win the Champions League, which has been dominated by Liga MX clubs; however, Real Salt Lake, Montreal Impact (now CF Montréal), and Toronto FC reached the Champions League finals in 2011, 2015, and 2018 respectively; LAFC reached the CL final in both 2020 and 2023; and DC United and LA Galaxy have respectively won the original Champions' Cup in 1998 and 2000. In 2022, however, Seattle Sounders managed to finally accomplish the feat, winning 5-2 on aggregate against Liga MX club Pumas to become the first MLS side to win the title.\\\

TheNewTens marked a major growing period for MLS, where they transformed into a major American sports league and one of the strongest soccer leagues in North America. From 2010 to 2020 they expanded from 16 teams to 26, with some notable inclusions being Atlanta, a second New York club, and a second (and ''far'' more successful) attempt at Miami.

[[folder: info to reorganize]]
rather than add stoppage time at the end of halves

Another Americanization included , and counting victory in such a tiebreaker as less points than a proper win.

including an intervening period of [sudden death] tiebreakers,

and the period since this time is known as "the post-shootout era", often used to distinguish club records from that period versus club records after, as tiebreakers affected W-L-D tallies.

although teams in cities with a soccer heritage pre-dating MLS have kept traditional names, such as Portland Timbers, and some are hybrids, such as Seattle Sounders FC.

Each of the teams in the league are franchises granted by the league, as opposed to being completely individual entities like their European counterparts. Australia's A-League Men is the only other men's soccer league to operate the same way;[[note]]Apart from countries that are too small to support more than one league level. New Zealand's top level doesn't have promotion and relegation, but has annual regional qualifying, giving all teams the chance to qualify for the top league.[[/note]] both countries' top women's leagues, the National Women's Soccer League in the States and A-League Women in Australia, also use this model.[[note]]While the Canadian Premier League currently has no promotion and relegation, the league organizers have publicly stated that they intend to create a promotion/relegation system once enough teams enter.[[/note]] Also, unlike any of the traditional major leagues of the US and Canada , MLS operates on a "single-entity" model, in which all teams--and even (technically) player contracts--are owned by the league itself. The team operators, while they do have much of the same control that team owners do in other major leagues, are actually shareholders in the league. From 2005 to 2008, MLS operated a reserve league, with each franchise [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin fielding its reserve side]] in that circuit. That league was relaunched in 2011, but by 2013 its schedule been integrated with that of the third-tier league then known as USL Pro (later the United Soccer League and now the second-level USL Championship), and by 2015 the Reserve League was folded and all MLS teams were required to place a reserve side in the USLC or affiliate with an independently-owned side in that league. However, this requirement had never been strictly enforced, and by 2019 a few MLS teams had started fielding reserve sides in USL League One, a new third-level league run by the same body that runs the USLC. MLS announced in 2020 that it would relaunch the Reserve League in 2021, but COVID-19 put that plan on hold. MLS later tweaked this plan, announcing a new developmental league, unveiled as MLS Next Pro, that launched in 2022 as a third-level league (the same level as USL League One). Next Pro started with 21 teams, 20 of which are directly owned MLS reserve sides and the other independently owned. In the 2023 season, Next Pro features reserve sides for all MLS teams except CF Montréal and D.C. United; the latter originally planned to link up with Next Pro, but ended up not doing so for the time being.\\\

Another difference between MLS and its European counterparts is that the season runs from spring-to-fall. This has been criticized by its European counterparts and FIFA on the grounds it conflicts with the FIFA calendar and major summer tournaments, especially the World Cup. So far, the main reason MLS have opposed a fall-to-spring schedule is because of winter weather in Canada and the northernmost parts of the US. Plus, from a marketing standpoint, a spring-to-fall schedule means MLS only has to compete against UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball and UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} in the US and the [[UsefulNotes/CanadianFootballLeague CFL]] in Canada for viewership during the summer. A FIFA-compatible fall-to-spring calendar would mean MLS would be in competition against both several other American sports leagues ([[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]], [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] and NCAA [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball college football]]) ''and'' soccer leagues from abroad. Most of the other countries with soccer leagues whose seasons fall within a single calendar year are either in the Southern Hemisphere, where such a league would play a fall-to-spring calendar (e.g. Brazil), or far up north (e.g. Sweden).[[note]]Interestingly, A-League Men also plays a spring-to-fall season, placing it in direct conflict with European leagues. However, the country's [[UsefulNotes/AustralianRulesFootball other]] [[UsefulNotes/RugbyLeague football]] [[UsefulNotes/RugbyUnion codes]] play mostly in the southern winter.[[/note]]\\
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Prior to 2003, MLS had tried to Americanize the game of soccer, applying certain rules and formats that were more similar to other American sports, in an attempt to appeal to American sports fans; such as a countdown game clock, and pausing the clock during stoppages rather than add stoppage time at the end of halves. Team names prior to 2000 tended to resemble American sports teams, such as Kansas City Wizards, New York/New Jersey [=MetroStars=], Miami Fusion, and Montreal Impact. Many such teams that still exist have renamed to names resembling European naming, often using "FC" in the name, although teams in cities with a soccer heritage pre-dating MLS have kept traditional names, such as Portland Timbers, and some are hybrids, such as Seattle Sounders FC. Another Americanization included avoiding all tied games (draws) by going straight to a penalty kicks after regulation, and counting victory in such a tiebreaker as less points than a proper win. These moves failed to draw in new soccer fans and alienated existing American soccer fans and were abandoned between 2000-2003, including an intervening period of [sudden death] tiebreakers, and the period since this time is known as "the post-shootout era", often used to distinguish club records from that period versus club records after, as tiebreakers affected W-L-D tallies.
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[[note]]As does A-League Men; Australian sports developed playoff systems on their own. Several leagues in Latin America, with Mexico's top flight of Liga MX one notable example, also determine their champions via playoffs, although all operate on a promotion/relegation system.[[/note]] Sacramento Republic FC was planned to be MLS's 30th club, but its lead investor pulled out, leaving Sacramento's bid in limbo, with San Diego FC being awarded that 30th slot in May 2023 and expected to launch in 2025. League Commissioner Don Garber has indicated that the league may eventually expand to 32 clubs.\\\

In all but a few cases, teams play at 18,000 to 30,000-seat soccer-specific stadiums, which are less expensive to construct and maintain, give MLS team investor-operators greater revenue control, can also be used to host other events such as concerts and high school and college football games, and look much better packed with fans than in the early years of the league, when the majority of teams played in NFL and large NCAA stadiums which are downright cavernous for soccer. In the early years of MLS-specific stadiums, they were often built in the suburbs or in the outskirts of the city proper; however, the trend has since shifted to building them closer to the city center, particularly in markets where the NFL and/or MLB is absent. The teams who currently do not play in a MLS-specific stadium are Atlanta United FC, Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire FC, the New England Revolution, NYCFC, the Seattle Sounders, and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, New England, Seattle and Vancouver share a stadium with an NFL or CFL team.[[note]]Atlanta, Charlotte, New England and Seattle share common ownership with their respective NFL counterparts. Chicago abandoned their suburban MLS-specific venue in favor of returning to Soldier Field.[[/note]] NYCFC plays in an MLB ballpark; they and New England are actively seeking their own stadiums.[[note]]Toronto FC shares its stadium with a CFL team, while the LA Galaxy shared with an NFL team from 2017 to 2019 and a college football team in 2020 and 2021. However, both stadiums were specifically built for MLS, with the gridiron teams moving in years later. The Portland Timbers play in a former UsefulNotes/MinorLeagueBaseball park that was rebuilt for soccer, and have shared it with a college football team, but the college team has moved to a smaller venue.[[/note]]\\
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Unlike most soccer leagues, MLS does not employ a either single table, double round-robin format (common in European leagues) or a split season round-robin format (common in Latin American leagues) for its regular season; instead, the league is split into Eastern and Western Conferences using an unbalanced schedule. Unlike the other major North American leagues, MLS currently does not further divide its two conferences into divisions. For the 2024 MLS season, teams play a 34-match schedule; each team plays its conference opponents home and away while the remaining matches are played against teams in the opposite conference. Prior to the 2020 MLS season, teams were guaranteed to play each league opponent at least once. The standings are determined by the standard FIFA point system, with a win equal to 3 points, a draw with 1 point, and none for a loss. At the end of the regular season, the team with most points wins the Supporters' Shield trophy[[note]]The physical trophy was created in 1999; however, the first-place finishers in the first three seasons were awarded the Shield retroactively[[/note]], and gains the top overall seed in the playoffs. Since 2015, the North American Independent Supporters Council, who maintain the Supporters' Shield, also award the Anthony Precourt Memorial Wooden Spoon to the club who [[MedalofDishonor finishes dead last]] in the overall league table; the trophy was named in (dis)honor of ex-Columbus Crew/current Austin FC owner Anthony Precourt in 2017, who had attempted to move the Crew to Austin.\\\

Since the 2023 season, nine teams in each conference qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs, with the 8th and 9th place teams playing a single wild-card match, with the winner facing the conference champion in Round One, which is played as a best-of-three series. In Round One, traditional tiebreakers such as aggregate goals and away goals are not used, with tied matches going straight to penalties. The conference semifinals, finals, and MLS Cup match remain single-elimination matches hosted by the higher ranked seed with extra time and penalty kicks if necessary. The MLS Cup playoffs use a fixed bracket similar to the NBA and Major League Baseball[[note]]temporarily with 8 teams per league in 2020 (due to COVID cutting the regular season down to 60 games), and permanently with 6 teams per league since 2022[[/note]] rather than reseeding teams, as the NFL currently does and MLS and the NHL have done in years past. From the league's inception until the 2011 season, the MLS Cup championship was hosted at a predetermined neutral site, similar to the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl; however, since 2012, the championship match is hosted by the higher seeded team in the Supporters' Shield table.\\\

As of the most recent 2023 MLS season, MLS is guaranteed a minimum of five berths in the CONCACAF[[note]]Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football[[/note]] Champions Cup[[note]]CONCACAF's counterpart of the UsefulNotes/UEFAChampionsLeague and UsefulNotes/CopaLibertadores[[/note]] (known in the past as the CONCACAF [[IHaveManyNames Champions' Cup and Champions League]]). For the first time, these berths are now open to teams from either the US or Canada. The MLS Cup winner enters in the round of 16, and the Supporters' Shield winner, the regular-season champion in the other conference, and the next two teams in the Supporters' Shield standings enter in the first round. The United States, which had four direct berths in the final competition under the Champions League name in 2023, now has only ''one'' direct berth--that given to the winner of the US Open Cup.[[note]]The United States Soccer Federation's equivalent to UsefulNotes/TheFACup[[/note]] which is also contested by lower division professional and amateur teams sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation.[[note]]Since 2016, any professional lower division team either majority-owned by a higher division team or whose player roster is managed by a higher division team is ineligible. Amateur teams that have similar relationships with MLS teams are still allowed to enter, but can only meet their affiliated side in the cup final.[[/note]] The Open Cup winner enters the Champions Cup in the first round. That said, since MLS launched in 1996, only one team outside MLS has won the Open Cup. Canada goes from one berth in the Champions League to ''three'' in the Champions Cup--two for its top domestic level, the Canadian Premier League (specifically the teams that top the regular-season table and win the championship playoffs), and one for the winner of the Canadian Championship, the country's equivalent to the US Open Cup[[note]]Like the US, any professional lower division club owned or managed directly by a higher level club is disqualified.[[/note]] that features Canada's MLS sides, all CPL sides, and select teams from lower-level semi-pro and amateur leagues. [[ButWaitTheresMore That's not all.]] Three berths are awarded by performance in the Leagues Cup, a summer tournament that has expanded in 2023 to involve all MLS and Liga MX (Mexican top flight) sides. The Leagues Cup winner enters in the round of 16, while the runner-up and third-place teams enter in the first round.[[note]]Liga MX gets six automatic berths. The league crowns two champions each season, as it conducts a split-season format known as "Apertura and Clausura" (the two Spanish words mean "opening" and "closing"). The champion that's higher in the league table for the entire season enters in the round of 16, and the other enters in the first round. The runners-up in the Apertura and Clausura, plus the next two teams in the aggregate season table not already qualified, enter in the first round. The remaining berths are awarded by performance in the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup (three) and the CONCACAF Central American Cup (six), the newly launched club championships for CONCACAF's other two regional zones (the US, Canada, and Mexico form one zone).[[/note]] In all cases, if an MLS team earns qualification by more than one method, the affected berth is given to the highest-ranked team in the Supporters' Shield standings that has failed to qualify.\\\

Up until 2022, no MLS club, American or Canadian, was able to win the Champions League, which has been dominated by Liga MX clubs; however, Real Salt Lake, Montreal Impact (now CF Montréal), and Toronto FC reached the Champions League finals in 2011, 2015, and 2018 respectively; LAFC reached the CL final in both 2020 and 2023; and DC United and LA Galaxy have respectively won the original Champions' Cup in 1998 and 2000. In 2022, however, Seattle Sounders managed to finally accomplish the feat, winning 5-2 on aggregate against Liga MX club Pumas to become the first MLS side to win the title.\\\

MLS is generally looked down upon by European fans/fans of European teams, who look at it as the place that over-the-hill European players go to get one final paycheck after they can't cut the mustard in Europe. The lack of relegation/promotion, the Eastern/Western Conference league structure[[note]]before the 2015–16 English season, that country used the "Conference" to refer to the division directly below the four professional leagues, [[AudienceAlienatingEra team names that would be acceptable in 1995]], and the division below that was divided into Conferences North and South, the teams of which are invariably staffed by part-timers. In other words, two 'Conference' leagues carry implications that the teams aren't even good enough to be fully professional.[[/note]], and the use of a postseason playoff rather than the Supporters' Shield to determine the league's champion doesn't help.\\
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However, like the US national team, it is beginning to, slowly, get respect, with European players like Steven Gerrard ([[TheCaptain talismanic captain]] of [[UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague Liverpool FC, second most successful club in English history]], [[TheAce considered by his peers to be the best player in his position on the planet in his prime]] and winner of just about every trophy short of the Premier League itself - and he was one slip away from winning that, too) a major 2015 acquisition of LA Galaxy, firmly insisting that he hadn't come to just see his career out and wanted to win trophies. On top of that, players that go to play in the MLS are often still in demand in Europe, with AC Milan and Paris St. Germain, two of the biggest clubs in Europe, taking UsefulNotes/DavidBeckham on loan in the MLS off-season; Frank Lampard forming a key part of Manchester City's team after New York City FC loaned him back; Landon Donovan having several highly successful stints at Everton FC, a well-regarded English club which was the long term home of US goalkeeper Tim 'Secretary of Defence' Howard, and becoming a fan favourite; Zlatan Ibrahimović, who came from Man United to the Galaxy about a month into the 2018 season and ended the season as a finalist for league MVP, being a speculated target of several big European sides before signing what was reported to be the richest MLS contract at that time to stay in LA; and most recently in 2023, World Cup winner and candidate for all-time greatest Lionel Messi left French side PSG and refused a '''''billion-dollar''''' offer from Saudi Arabia to join Inter Miami in the largest MLS contract of all time [[note]]How large? Messi's [[https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37892322/messi-turning-point-draconian-mls-roster-rules reported salary of $50–$60 million]] was more than the ''combined'' 2023 roster salaries of CF Montréal, the New York Red Bulls, Orlando City, Real Salt Lake, and St. Louis City.[[/note]], and promptly won his record 8th Ballon d'Or, given to the player agreed by their peers to be the best in the world.\\
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Now, the US is seen as the sleeping giant of football, thanks to increasing awareness of the game thanks to television coverage of UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague, which has the advantage of a similar culture/appealing to America's rampant Anglophilia, and a sprinkling of US players, the growing success of the national team (now regarded as a disciplined second tier team that can be a real threat to traditional power houses England, Germany and the Netherlands) a growing Hispanic population which is football mad and as a result, many of the big [[ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount (and rich)]] European teams regularly come on tour to the US, some, like Manchester City, forging links with MLS clubs (meaning that in time, we're likely to see talented young players from Europe being blooded in the MLS) while other teams set up academies to pick up talented players.[[note]] In doing so, possibly tapping into a vein of talent that traditional American sports don't, since American football in particular often prioritises size, speed and power. Soccer on the other hand, is much more flexible: while one or all of those things helps, with speed being particularly prized, if you're technically skilled enough, like Spain legend Xavi, mercurial Argentine playmaker Juan Román Riquelme and David Beckham in his later years, you don't need anything physical barring stamina. Though goalkeepers, centre-backs and centre-forwards ('target men', meant to provide an aerial threat from crosses and to knock long balls down for onrushing team mates) are expected to be tall (and sometimes not even then: Jorge Campos, Mexico goalkeeper at two World Cups, including US '94, was only 5'6", and World Cup winning Italy Captain Fabio Cannavaro, regarded as one of the best centre-backs of all time, was only 5'9"), short players are often successful. The aforementioned Lionel Messi for instance, 7-time La Liga winner, 4-time [[UsefulNotes/UEFAChampionsLeague Champions League]] winner, 3 time Copa del Rey winner (the Spanish domestic cup competition), unprecedented 4-time winner of the Ballon D'Or (awarded to the best player in the world, voted for by national team captains and coaches) at the age of 29 - so then still in his prime - and widely considered to be the best player not just of his time but ''in all of history'', had growth hormone deficiency as a child and even after treatment is only 5'7". Lorenzo Insigne, an Italian international winger who joined Toronto FC after the 2021–22 Serie A season, is even smaller at ''5'4"''.[[/note]] In short, for the MLS and UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball in the United States as a whole, the future looks bright.\\
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MLS sought to make an even bigger splash in broadcast when they sold ''global'' broadcast rights to Apple in 2022. Beginning in the 2023 season, Apple TV brought virtually all MLS TV production in-house and began carrying ''MLS Season Pass''. Anyone with access to Apple TV--membership to Apple TV+ is not required, but gets a discount; and all team season ticket holders get access for free--can purchase ''MLS Season Pass'' by the month ($14.99 US/$19.99 CA) or for the whole season ($99 US/$129 CA). Broadcast rights for select games are owned by Fox Sports in the United States, TSN/RDS in Canada, and Univision Deportes for Spanish language games in the US and Mexico.\\
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Though team names originally followed the American convention of [City/Region] [Nickname], many teams have switched to European-style names (Ex: The Kansas City Wizards are now Sporting Kansas City), or a hybrid of the two (Ex: "Seattle Sounders FC"). Many teams, especially those brought into the league in the last few years, are reincarnations of teams from lower-tier national leagues such as the USL and NASL (Ex: Portland Timbers). Officially, such teams are disbanded and the new team formed with the same management, and staff, but they generally acknowledge continuity with the prior franchise for record-keeping purposes.\\
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The effects of COVID-19 in 2021 weren't limited to conference scheduling. The season start was delayed to April 16, the latest ever. Due to Canadian border restrictions, all three of the country's teams played "home" games in US stadiums until Canada reopened the border to its MLS teams in August. Also, only one team, Austin FC, operated its stadium at full capacity throughout the season, and only nine other teams fully opened their stadiums before the end of the season.[[labelnote:*]]Atlanta United, FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew, DC United, FC Dallas, LA Galaxy, LAFC, Orlando City, Sporting KC. Nashville SC nominally limited its stadium to 40% capacity, but it played the 2021 season in an NFL stadium which it never planned to completely fill for standard league games.[[/labelnote]]
[[/folder]]

Here on TV Tropes, these rivalries are listed in [[TheRival/{{Sports}} the Sports section]] for the trope TheRival.

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MLS was founded in 1993, originally as a condition FIFA imposed on the US Soccer Federation in order for the United States to host the [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup 1994 FIFA World Cup]]. The US and Canada previously had a sanctioned league in The70s called the North American Soccer League, but a combination of over-expansion, players' union disputes, and a general early 80s recession caused its collapse in 1984. After three years of preparing and a failed antitrust suit, MLS played it's inaugural season in 1996, consisting of ten charter teams scattered throughout the United States. The league had various struggles going on in its early years, such as having low attendance exasterbated by the massive [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] stadiums they were playing in, fielding a weak US National Team (which lost every group stage match in the 1998 World Cup), and numerous financial problems leading to inaugural commissioner Doug Logan stepping down. However, the arguable biggest one was how different MLS's rules were from the various other soccer leagues of the world.

Prior to 2003, MLS had tried to apply certain rules and formats more similar to other American sports in an attempt to appeal to fans of the established North American leagues. These included such things like a countdown game clock, pausing the clock during stoppages, and avoiding all draws/tied games by going straight to a penalty kicks after regulation. Additionally, team names prior to 2000 also tended to resemble American sports teams, such as the Kansas City Wizards, New York/New Jersey [=MetroStars=], Miami Fusion, and Montreal Impact. These moves ultimately failed to draw in new soccer fans as well as alienated existing ones, leading to their eventual abandonment between 2000-2003. Since this time, many of the extant clubs have since renamed along the European method, often using "FC" in the name.

Prior to 2003, MLS had tried to apply certain rules and formats more similar to other American sports in an attempt to appeal to fans of the established North American leagues. These included such things like a countdown game clock, pausing the clock during stoppages, and avoiding all tied games (draws) by going straight to a penalty kicks after regulation. Additionally, team names prior to 2000 also tended to resemble American sports teams, such as the Kansas City Wizards, New York/New Jersey [=MetroStars=], Miami Fusion, and Montreal Impact. These moves ultimately failed to draw in new soccer fans as well as alienated existing ones, leading to their eventual abandonment between 2000-2003. Since this time, many of the extant clubs have since renamed along the European method, often using "FC" in the name.

For a soccer league, MLS's operation is closer to the four major North American sports leagues[[note]]being [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball MLB]], the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]], and the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]].[[/note]] than to the five major European football leagues.[[note]]being the [[UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague Premier League]], [[UsefulNotes/EuroFooty Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga, and the Bundesliga]].[[/note]] Unlike almost every other men's (or women's) association football league in the world, it currently does not have a relegation/promotion system. Instead, its organizational structure currently consists of 29 clubs[[note]]And with UsefulNotes/SanDiego FC's first season in 2025, a 30th.[[/note]] (26 in the United States, 3 in Canada) split 15-14 between an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference. Also unlike the various European leagues, MLS runs on a 34 match summer schedule from February to October, with the nine best clubs in each conference participating in the playoffs in November and December. This eventually culminates in the [[BigGame MLS Cup]], a league championship game similar to the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl or [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup the FIFA World Cup Final]]. MLS also has the Supporters' Shield, a more traditional trophy to association football leagues (or for a more domestic comparison, like the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague President's Trophy]]) given to the club with the best finishing record in the MLS season.

Prior to 2003, MLS had tried to Americanize the game of soccer, applying certain rules and formats that were more similar to other American sports, in an attempt to appeal to American sports fans. These included such things like a countdown game clock and pausing the clock during stoppages rather than add stoppage time at the end of halves. Team names prior to 2000 also tended to resemble American sports teams, such as Kansas City Wizards, New York/New Jersey [=MetroStars=], Miami Fusion, and Montreal Impact. Many such teams that still exist have renamed to names resembling European naming, often using "FC" in the name, although teams in cities with a soccer heritage pre-dating MLS have kept traditional names, such as Portland Timbers, and some are hybrids, such as Seattle Sounders FC. Another Americanization included avoiding all tied games (draws) by going straight to a penalty kicks after regulation, and counting victory in such a tiebreaker as less points than a proper win. These moves failed to draw in new soccer fans and alienated existing American soccer fans and were abandoned between 2000-2003, including an intervening period of [sudden death] tiebreakers, and the period since this time is known as "the post-shootout era", often used to distinguish club records from that period versus club records after, as tiebreakers affected W-L-D tallies.

MLS was founded in 1993, originally as a condition FIFA imposed on the US Soccer Federation in order for the United States to host the [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup 1994 FIFA World Cup]]. The US and Canada previously had a sanctioned league in The70s called the North American Soccer League, but a combination of over-expansion, players' union disputes, and a general early 80s recession caused its collapse in 1984.

Prior to 2003, MLS had tried to Americanize the game of soccer, applying certain rules and formats that were more similar to other American sports, in an attempt to appeal to American sports fans; such as a countdown game clock, and pausing the clock during stoppages rather than add stoppage time at the end of halves. Team names prior to 2000 tended to resemble American sports teams, such as Kansas City Wizards, New York/New Jersey [=MetroStars=], Miami Fusion, and Montreal Impact. Many such teams that still exist have renamed to names resembling European naming, often using "FC" in the name, although teams in cities with a soccer heritage pre-dating MLS have kept traditional names, such as Portland Timbers, and some are hybrids, such as Seattle Sounders FC. Another Americanization included avoiding all tied games (draws) by going straight to a penalty kicks after regulation, and counting victory in such a tiebreaker as less points than a proper win. These moves failed to draw in new soccer fans and alienated existing American soccer fans and were abandoned between 2000-2003, including an intervening period of [sudden death] tiebreakers, and the period since this time is known as "the post-shootout era", often used to distinguish club records from that period versus club records after, as tiebreakers affected W-L-D tallies.

predecessor league, the North American Soccer League (NASL) closed its doors in 1984. MLS was founded in 1993 as a condition FIFA imposed on the US Soccer Federation in exchange for allowing the United States to host the 1994 [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup World Cup]].

'''Major League Soccer''' ('''MLS''') is the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates' and UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}'s[[note]]Technically Canada's sanctioned top-tier league is the ''Canadian Premier League'' (CPL), although by all other metrics (budgets, facilities, media, players, etc.), the CPL is in the same tier as the USL Championship, the American second division. [[/note]] top-tier professional [[UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball soccer]] league, and is the tenth wealthiest sports league in the world.[[note]]It is behind: 1. The [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], 2. [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball MLB]], 3. The [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]], 4. The [[UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague EPL]], 5. The [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]], [[UsefulNotes/EuroFooty 6. La Liga, 7. The Bundesliga, 8. Serie A, and 9. Ligue 1]].[[/note]] Initially founded in 1993 as the second soccer league sanctioned by FIFA,[[note]]The first one was the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Soccer_League_(1968%E2%80%931984) North American Soccer League (NASL)]] from 1968 to 1984[[/note]] it has since [[GrowingTheBeard grown the beard]] over the past 30 years into a major professional soccer league with a bright future.

For a soccer league, MLS's operation is closer to the four major North American sports leagues[[note]]being [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball MLB]], the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]], and the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]][[/note]] than to the five major European football leagues.[[note]]being the [[UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague Premier League]], [[UsefulNotes/EuroFooty Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga, and the Bundesliga]][[/note]] Unlike almost every other men's (or women's) association football league in the world, it currently does not have a relegation/promotion system. Instead, its organizational structure currently consists of 29 clubs[[note]]And with UsefulNotes/SanDiego FC's first season in 2025, a 30th[[/note]] (26 in the United States, 3 in Canada) split 15-14 between an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference. Also unlike the various European leagues, MLS runs on a 34 match summer schedule from February to October, with the nine best clubs in each conference participating in the playoffs in November and December. This eventually culminates in the [[BigGame MLS Cup]], a league championship game similar to the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl or [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup the FIFA World Cup Final]]. MLS also has the Supporters' Shield, a more traditional trophy to association football leagues (or for a more domestic comparison, like the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague President's Trophy]]) given to the club with the best finishing record in the MLS season.

'''Major League Soccer''' ('''MLS''') is the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates' and UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}'s[[note]]Technically Canada's sanctioned top-tier league is the ''Canadian Premier League'' (CPL), although by all other metrics (budgets, facilities, media, players, etc.), the CPL is in the same tier as the USL Championship, the American second division. [[/note]] top-tier professional [[UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball soccer]] league, and is the tenth wealthiest sports league in the world.[[note]]It is behind: 1. The [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], 2. [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball MLB]], 3. The [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]], 4. The [[UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague EPL]], 5. The [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]], [[UsefulNotes/EuroFooty 6. La Liga, 7. The Bundesliga, 8. Serie A, and 9. Ligue 1]].[[/note]] Initially founded in 1993 on the ashes of the old [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Soccer_League_(1968%E2%80%931984) North American Soccer League (NASL)]], it has since [[GrowingTheBeard grown the beard]] over the past 30 years into a major professional soccer league with a bright future.

For a soccer league, MLS's operation is closer to the four major North American sports leagues[[note]]being [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball MLB]], the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]], and the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]][[/note]] than to the five major European football leagues.[[note]]being the [[UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague Premier League]], [[UsefulNotes/EuroFooty Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga, and the Bundesliga]][[/note]] Unlike almost every other men's (or women's) association football league in the world, it currently does not have a relegation/promotion system. Instead, its organizational structure currently consists of 29 clubs (26 in the United States, 3 in Canada) split 15-14 between an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference. Also unlike the various European leagues, MLS runs on a 34 match summer schedule from February to October, with the nine best clubs in each conference participating in the playoffs in November and December. This eventually culminates in the [[BigGame MLS Cup]], a league championship game similar to the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl or [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup the FIFA World Cup Final]]. MLS also has the Supporters' Shield, a more traditional trophy to association football leagues (or for a more domestic comparison, like the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague President's Trophy]]) given to the club with the best finishing record in the MLS season.

in order for the United States to host the [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup 1994 FIFA World Cup]]

MLS also relies on an American-style playoff format to determine its championship.[[note]]As does A-League Men; Australian sports developed playoff systems on their own. Several leagues in Latin America, with Mexico's top flight of Liga MX one notable example, also determine their champions via playoffs, although all operate on a promotion/relegation system.[[/note]] It currently has 29 teams, 26 in the U.S. and three in Canada. St. Louis City SC is the league's newest club. Sacramento Republic FC was planned to be MLS's 30th club, but its lead investor pulled out, leaving Sacramento's bid in limbo, with San Diego FC being awarded that 30th slot in May 2023 and expected to launch in 2025. League Commissioner Don Garber has indicated that the league may eventually expand to 32 clubs.\\\