The MLS Newcomer of the Year Award is awarded by Major League Soccer to a player who has professional experience in another league and has an outstanding season in his first season of play in MLS. [1] The award was introduced in 2007; its votes are collected from team staff, players, and members of the media. [2] [3]
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the United States and 3 in Canada—since the 2023 season. MLS is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. The team is currently operated by an ownership group led by the Haslam family and former team physician Pete Edwards. The Haslam/Edwards group is the third ownership group in club history.
Landon Timothy Donovan is an American former professional soccer player who is the interim head coach of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Widely regarded as one of the greatest U.S. players of all time, Donovan holds the world record for the man with the most international assists (58), and is tied with Clint Dempsey for the most international goals scored by a male U.S. player (57).
Federico Fernando Higuaín is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward and attacking midfielder. He is currently the head coach for MLS Next Pro club Inter Miami II.
Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz, known as Fredy Montero (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈfɾeðimonˈteɾo], is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Deportivo Cali. He was the all-time top scorer for the Seattle Sounders until being surpassed by Raúl Ruidíaz in 2024. He scored 79 goals with the club across two stints: from 2009 to 2012, and from 2021 to 2023. Montero has been called up to the Colombia national team five times, scoring once in an unofficial match against Catalonia.
Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began play in 2009 as an MLS expansion team. The Sounders are a phoenix club, replacing the second-division franchise that played in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL), A-League, and USL First Division (USL-1) from 1994 to 2008, and carrying the same name as the original Sounders franchise that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1983.
The Major League Soccer Player of Month is a monthly soccer award given to players in Major League Soccer. The honor is given to the player deemed to have had the best cumulative performance in each month by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters organization. The award was formerly voted on by the Professional Soccer Reporters Association.
Josef Alexander Martínez Mencia is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club CF Montréal and the Venezuela national team.
Matthew James Hedges is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for Major League Soccer club Austin FC.
Orlando City Soccer Club, known as Orlando City SC or simply Orlando City, is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top division in the United States soccer league system. Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL Pro team of the same name. In doing so they became the first MLS team in Florida since Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny both folded following the 2001 season. The team plays in Downtown Orlando at Inter&Co Stadium, which it owns and operates.
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, better known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area.
Lucas Manuel Zelarayán is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Fateh. Born in Argentina, he plays for the Armenia national team.
Los Angeles FC (LAFC) is an American professional association football club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the Western Conference. It was established on October 30, 2014, and began play during the 2018 season as an expansion team. The team plays its home matches at BMO Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located in Exposition Park.
Miguel Ángel Almirón Rejala is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Paraguay national team.
Thiago Ezequiel Almada is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Botafogo and the Argentina national team.
The 2020 Major League Soccer season was the 25th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on February 29, 2020, and was originally planned to end on October 4. The MLS Cup Playoffs were planned to begin later that month and would end with MLS Cup 2020 on November 7.
Charlotte FC is an American professional men's soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise on December 17, 2019. It began play in the 2022 MLS season as the league's 28th franchise. Charlotte FC plays at Bank of America Stadium, which it shares with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, a team also owned by Tepper; the stadium capacity is reduced to 38,000 for most matches.
The 2023 Major League Soccer season was the 28th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, and the 45th season overall of a national first-division league in the United States. The league expanded to 29 clubs following the addition of St. Louis City SC to the Western Conference, with Nashville SC moving back to the Eastern Conference.