Major League Soccer
History, Facts, & Teams
Major League Soccer (MLS), North American professional football (soccer) league that is the highest level of soccer competition on that continent.
Major League Soccer (MLS) began play in 1996. The creation of the league was part of a successful bid by the United States to host the 1994 World Cup, seeking to capitalize on the expected surge in football popularity in the country in the wake of its hosting of the world’s most-celebrated sports tournament. The league’s first championship game (known as the MLS Cup) was won by D.C. United (based in Washington, D.C.), and that club and the Los Angeles Galaxy have captured the most league titles, with four championships each. While MLS is not as prestigious as European football leagues such as England’s Premier League, the exposure to the growing American football market led a number of international stars—including David Beckham, Thierry Henry, and Hristo Stoichkov—to ply their trade in MLS.
The league’s teams are aligned as follows:
- Eastern Conference: Atlanta United FC, Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew SC, D.C. United, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution (based near Boston), New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, Toronto FC.
- Western Conference: Colorado Rapids (based near Denver in Commerce City, Colorado), FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Minnesota United FC, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City, Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Winners of the MLS Cup are provided in the table.
year
winner
runner-up
score
*Won on penalty kicks.
1996
DC United
Los Angeles Galaxy
3–2 (OT)
1997
DC United
Colorado Rapids
2–1
1998
Chicago Fire
DC United
2–0
1999
DC United
Los Angeles Galaxy
2–0
2000
Kansas City Wizards
Chicago Fire
1–0
2001
San Jose Earthquakes
Los Angeles Galaxy
2–1 (OT)
2002
Los Angeles Galaxy
New England Revolution
1–0
2003
San Jose Earthquakes
Chicago Fire
4–2
2004
DC United
Kansas City Wizards
3–2
2005
Los Angeles Galaxy
New England Revolution
1–0 (OT)
2006
Houston Dynamo
New England Revolution
1–1*
2007
Houston Dynamo
New England Revolution
2–1
2008
Columbus Crew
New York Red Bulls
3–1
2009
Real Salt Lake
Los Angeles Galaxy
1–1*
2010
Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas
2–1 (OT)
2011
Los Angeles Galaxy
Houston Dynamo
1–0
2012
Los Angeles Galaxy
Houston Dynamo
3–1
2013
Sporting Kansas City
Real Salt Lake
1–1*
2014
Los Angeles Galaxy
New England Revolution
2–1
2015
Portland Timbers
Columbus Crew
2–1
2016
Seattle Sounders
Toronto FC
0–0*
2017
Toronto FC
Seattle Sounders
2–0
2018
Atlanta United
Portland Timbers
2–0
2019
Seattle Sounders
Toronto FC
3–1
2020
Columbus Crew
Seattle Sounders
3–0
2021
New York City FC
Portland Timbers
1–1*
2022
Los Angeles FC
Philadelphia Union
3–3*
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