List of Major League Soccer seasons

Several soccer players face away from the camera against a background with a full crowd; one player has jumped towards the in-flight ball while the goalkeeper looks on behind a goalpost.
A match between Minnesota United FC and New York City FC during the 2019 regular season

Major League Soccer (MLS) is the top-flight professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada. As of 2024, the league has 29 teams—26 in the United States and 3 in Canada—that are divided into the Eastern and Western conferences.[1][2] The league schedule runs from spring to fall within a single calendar year unlike European leagues, which use a fall-to-spring schedule.[3] 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.[1] A separate trophy, the Supporters' Shield, is awarded by a fan-run organization to the team with the best record in the regular season.[4][5] 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.[6]

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.[7] MLS was established in 1993 and debuted with 10 teams in the 1996 season, primarily played at large American football venues.[7][8] The league added its first expansion teams in 1998 and the first soccer-specific stadium opened the following year in Columbus, Ohio.[8] MLS had financial issues by the end of the decade as attendance and television ratings declined from their peak in the inaugural season;[9] two teams were folded prior to the 2002 season and the league faced a potential bankruptcy.[10][11] It began expanding again in 2005 and more teams built their own soccer-specific stadiums;[12] the league reached 16 teams in 2010 and grew further to 20 teams in 2015 and 26 teams in 2020.[13][14] As of 2024, 22 of the league's 29 teams play in soccer-specific stadiums that range in capacity from 18,000 to 30,000 seats, while others use larger shared venues.[12]

MLS teams each play 34 matches during the regular season, which runs from February to October, primarily between opponents in the same conference.[15][16] 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.[17] 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.[1][18] 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;[2] the Leagues Cup, which features all MLS teams and Liga MX teams from Mexico;[1] and the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the regional championship for clubs in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.[19]

The LA Galaxy are the most successful team in the league's history with four MLS Cup titles and four Supporters' Shields; D.C. United has four MLS Cup titles and four Supporters' Shields.[1][20] 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.[21] 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.[22] The current single-season scoring record was set by Carlos Vela, who scored 34 goals during the 2019 regular season for Los Angeles FC.[23] 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.[24][25] Teams also have academies to develop young players and reserve squads in MLS Next Pro, the developmental league run by MLS.[26]

Seasons

Major League Soccer seasons
Season Teams MLS Cup playoffs[27] Regular season[27][28] Most valuable player[29] Golden Boot[29][a] Ref.
Champion Runners-up Supporters' Shield Record[b] Pts. MP Avg. attendance[30]
1996 10 D.C. United Los Angeles Galaxy Tampa Bay Mutiny 20–12[c] 58[d] 32 17,406 Carlos Valderrama Roy Lassiter (27) [36]
1997 10 D.C. United (2nd title) Colorado Rapids D.C. United 21–11[c] 55[d] 32 14,603 Preki Jaime Moreno (16)[e] [37]
1998 12 Chicago Fire D.C. United Los Angeles Galaxy 24–8[c] 68[d] 32 14,312 Marco Etcheverry Stern John (26) [38]
1999 12 D.C. United (3rd title) Los Angeles Galaxy D.C. United (2nd title) 23–9[c] 57[d] 32 14,282 Jason Kreis Jason Kreis (18) [39]
2000 12 Kansas City Wizards Chicago Fire Kansas City Wizards 16–7–9 57 32 13,756 Tony Meola Mamadou Diallo (26) [40]
2001 12 San Jose Earthquakes Los Angeles Galaxy Miami Fusion 16–5–5 53 26–27[f] 14,961 Álex Pineda Chacón Álex Pineda Chacón (19) [42]
2002 10 Los Angeles Galaxy New England Revolution Los Angeles Galaxy (2nd title) 16–9–3 51 28 15,821 Carlos Ruiz Carlos Ruiz (24)[e] [44]
2003 10 San Jose Earthquakes (2nd title) Chicago Fire Chicago Fire 15–7–8 53 30 14,898 Preki (2nd title) Carlos Ruiz (15)[e] [45]
2004 10 D.C. United (4th title) Kansas City Wizards Columbus Crew[g] 12–5–13 49 30 15,559 Amado Guevara Brian Ching (12)[e] [47]
2005 12 Los Angeles Galaxy (2nd title) New England Revolution San Jose Earthquakes 18–4–10 64 32 15,108 Taylor Twellman Taylor Twellman (17) [48]
2006 12 Houston Dynamo New England Revolution D.C. United (3rd title) 15–7–10 55 32 15,504 Christian Gómez Jeff Cunningham (18) [49]
2007 13 Houston Dynamo (2nd title) New England Revolution D.C. United (4th title) 16–7–7 55 30 16,770 Luciano Emílio Luciano Emílio (20) [50]
2008 14 Columbus Crew New York Red Bulls Columbus Crew (2nd title) 17–7–6 57 30 16,460 Guillermo Barros Schelotto Landon Donovan (20) [51]
2009 15 Real Salt Lake LA Galaxy Columbus Crew (3rd title) 13–7–10 49 30 16,040 Landon Donovan Jeff Cunningham (17) [52]
2010 16 Colorado Rapids FC Dallas LA Galaxy (3rd title) 18–7–5 59 30 16,675 David Ferreira Chris Wondolowski (18) [53]
2011 18 LA Galaxy (3rd title) Houston Dynamo LA Galaxy (4th title) 19–5–10 67 34 17,872 Dwayne De Rosario Dwayne De Rosario (16) [54]
2012 19 LA Galaxy (4th title) Houston Dynamo San Jose Earthquakes (2nd title) 19–6–9 66 34 18,807 Chris Wondolowski Chris Wondolowski (27) [55]
2013 19 Sporting Kansas City (2nd title) Real Salt Lake New York Red Bulls 17–9–8 59 34 18,594 Mike Magee Camilo Sanvezzo (22) [56]
2014 19 LA Galaxy (5th title) New England Revolution Seattle Sounders FC 20–10–4 64 34 19,147 Robbie Keane Bradley Wright-Phillips (27) [57]
2015 20 Portland Timbers Columbus Crew SC New York Red Bulls (2nd title)[h] 18–10–6 60 34 21,558 Sebastian Giovinco Sebastian Giovinco (22) [59]
2016 20 Seattle Sounders FC Toronto FC FC Dallas 17–8–9 60 34 21,692 David Villa Bradley Wright-Phillips (24) [60]
2017 22 Toronto FC Seattle Sounders FC Toronto FC 20–5–9 69 34 22,106 Diego Valeri Nemanja Nikolić (24) [61]
2018 23 Atlanta United FC Portland Timbers New York Red Bulls (3rd title) 22–7–5 71 34 21,873 Josef Martínez Josef Martínez (31) [62]
2019 24 Seattle Sounders FC (2nd title) Toronto FC Los Angeles FC 21–4–9 72 34 21,330 Carlos Vela Carlos Vela (34) [63]
2020 26 Columbus Crew SC (2nd title) Seattle Sounders FC Philadelphia Union 14–4–5 47 18–23[i] —[j] Alejandro Pozuelo Diego Rossi (14) [69]
2021 27 New York City FC Portland Timbers New England Revolution 22–5–7 73 34 16,699[j] Carles Gil Valentín Castellanos (19) [70]
2022 28 Los Angeles FC Philadelphia Union Los Angeles FC (2nd title)[k] 21–9–4 67 34 21,033 Hany Mukhtar Hany Mukhtar (23) [72]
2023 29 Columbus Crew (3rd title) Los Angeles FC FC Cincinnati 20–5–9 69 34 22,111 Luciano Acosta Denis Bouanga (20) [73]
2024 29 LA Galaxy (6th title)[20] New York Red Bulls Inter Miami CF 22–8–4 74 34 23,234[74] Lionel Messi[75] Christian Benteke (23) [76]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Golden Boot column is sorted by number of goals scored, followed by the player's surname.
  2. ^ The record column is sorted by points per game due to the changes in the number of matches played per season.
  3. ^ a b c d From 1996 to 1999, the regular season and playoffs used a 35-yard shootout to decide the result of matches in lieu of draws. It was replaced by a ten-minute golden goal overtime from 2000 to 2003 that allowed for teams to draw before the standard international rules were fully adopted at the beginning of the 2004 season.[31][32]
  4. ^ a b c d From 1996 to 1999, teams were awarded three points for a win in regulation time and one point for a shootout win.[33] It was replaced with one point for draws at the beginning of the 2000 season.[34][35]
  5. ^ a b c d From 1996 to 2004, the MLS Scoring Champion was determined through a combination of goals and assists; the top goalscorer is listed instead of the MLS Scoring Champion.[43]
  6. ^ The final weeks of the 2001 regular season were cancelled following the September 11 attacks; teams played only 26 or 27 matches out of their original 28-match schedule.[41]
  7. ^ The Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards both finished with 49 points and a +8 goal difference; the tiebreaker used was goals scored, which Columbus won 40–38.[46]
  8. ^ The New York Red Bulls and FC Dallas both finished with 60 points and an identical 18–10–6 record; the Red Bulls won the Supporters' Shield using the goal difference tiebreaker.[58]
  9. ^ On March 12, 2020, MLS play was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in July with the MLS is Back Tournament at a neutral site within a bio-secure bubble.[64] The regular season resumed in August with plans to play 23 matches; due to the cancellation of several matches for COVID-19 outbreaks, some teams played as few as 18 matches and the standings were determined by points per game.[65][66]
  10. ^ a b The 2020 and 2021 seasons had reduced capacity at stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[67] The league's three Canadian teams were relocated to temporary venues in the United States due to border restrictions; they returned to their home stadiums in August 2021.[68]
  11. ^ Los Angeles FC and the Philadelphia Union both finished with 67 points; the Supporters' Shield was awarded to Los Angeles FC based on the greater number of wins (21 to 19).[71]

References

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  30. ^ Major League Soccer (2024), p. 76
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  62. ^ "2018 Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  63. ^ "2019 Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
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  65. ^ Straus, Brian (November 20, 2020). "MLS Reaches the Playoffs, but Completing Them Has a Distinct Set of Challenges". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
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  67. ^ Goff, Steven (April 16, 2021). "MLS is back, with returning fans, new coaches and another celebrity owner". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  68. ^ Davidson, Neil (July 16, 2021). "Toronto FC hopes home is where the wins are on return to BMO Field". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
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  73. ^ "2023 Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  74. ^ Silverman, Alex (October 22, 2024). "MLS sets attendance record in 2024 with 5% uptick over last season". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
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