Overview
Thirty clubs across the United States and Canada, a single table split into two conferences, and a knockout playoff for MLS Cup.
Major League Soccer is the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Thirty clubs — 27 American and three Canadian — are split between the Eastern and Western Conferences and play a 34-game regular season from late February to October.
Unlike most leagues worldwide, MLS is a single entity: player contracts are held centrally rather than by the clubs, and there is no promotion or relegation. The Supporters' Shield goes to the best regular-season record; the championship, MLS Cup, is decided by a conference-based knockout playoff. Roster rules revolve around the Designated Player mechanism, introduced in 2007 to sign David Beckham, which lets clubs pay three players outside the salary budget.
2026 Standings
Regular season by conference. Table order as published in the feed (points, then the competition's tiebreakers). 30 teams. Captured 6 October 2026 from the ESPN public standings feed.
Eastern Conference
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville SC | 27 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 55 | 21 | +34 | 60 |
| 2 | New England Revolution | 27 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 45 | 36 | +9 | 46 |
| 3 | Inter Miami CF | 27 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 64 | 50 | +14 | 46 |
| 4 | Charlotte FC | 27 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 47 | 38 | +9 | 43 |
| 5 | Chicago Fire FC | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 46 | 38 | +8 | 42 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 54 | 44 | +10 | 39 |
| 7 | Orlando City SC | 27 | 10 | 4 | 13 | 48 | 64 | -16 | 34 |
| 8 | Red Bull New York | 27 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 34 | 51 | -17 | 33 |
| 9 | New York City FC | 27 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 33 |
| 10 | FC Cincinnati | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 64 | -9 | 33 |
| 11 | D.C. United | 26 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 34 | 42 | -8 | 30 |
| 12 | Columbus Crew | 27 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 39 | 43 | -4 | 29 |
| 13 | Toronto FC | 27 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 51 | -12 | 29 |
| 14 | Atlanta United FC | 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 32 | 45 | -13 | 27 |
| 15 | CF Montréal | 27 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 34 | 54 | -20 | 24 |
Western Conference
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 59 | 26 | +33 | 50 |
| 2 | St. Louis CITY SC | 27 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 48 | 36 | +12 | 47 |
| 3 | FC Dallas | 27 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 47 |
| 4 | San Jose Earthquakes | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 49 | 39 | +10 | 45 |
| 5 | Houston Dynamo FC | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 44 |
| 6 | LAFC | 28 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 43 | 30 | +13 | 41 |
| 7 | Seattle Sounders FC | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 38 |
| 8 | Colorado Rapids | 27 | 11 | 3 | 13 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 36 |
| 9 | LA Galaxy | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 37 | 44 | -7 | 36 |
| 10 | Portland Timbers | 27 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 48 | 51 | -3 | 32 |
| 11 | Real Salt Lake | 27 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 44 | -4 | 32 |
| 12 | San Diego FC | 27 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 47 | 47 | 0 | 32 |
| 13 | Austin FC | 27 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 35 | 47 | -12 | 31 |
| 14 | Minnesota United FC | 27 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 40 | 49 | -9 | 29 |
| 15 | Sporting Kansas City | 27 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 32 | 65 | -33 | 21 |
Clubs
Every club in the league. Tap a name for its page.
Eastern Conference
Season Format
Recent Champions
Most recent first. Seasons still in progress are marked.
History
MLS was founded in 1993 as part of the United States' commitment to FIFA in exchange for hosting the 1994 World Cup, and began play in 1996 with ten clubs. The early years were financially punishing: two clubs folded in 2002 and the league lost hundreds of millions of dollars before soccer-specific stadiums, beginning with Columbus in 1999, made the economics work.
David Beckham's signing for the LA Galaxy in 2007, made possible by the new Designated Player rule, marked the turn. Expansion has been continuous since — Seattle in 2009, Atlanta in 2017, San Diego as the thirtieth club in 2025 — and attendances now rank among the highest of any league in the world.
Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami in 2023 brought a further step change in global attention, and from 2023 the league's matches have been carried worldwide on a single streaming deal. The league also plays the Leagues Cup with Liga MX each summer.
Governance
MLS is governed as a single limited liability company whose investor-operators run the clubs, with Commissioner Don Garber in post since 1999. Players are represented by the MLS Players Association; the current collective bargaining agreement runs through 2027.
The league sits under the United States Soccer Federation and the Canadian Soccer Association, and through them under CONCACAF and FIFA. Its clubs enter the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the US Open Cup and the Canadian Championship.