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. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
D.C. United is an American professional men's soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups, four Supporters' Shields, three U.S. Open Cups, and six Eastern Conference championships. In international competitions, the club has one CONCACAF Champions Cup title and one Copa Interamericana, the only American team to win the latter. In terms of trophies won, it is the joint-most successful overall club in American soccer.
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise began play in 1996 as one of the charter members of the league. The Earthquakes took part in the first game in MLS history, defeating D.C. United 1–0. The Earthquakes have won two MLS Cup titles and two Supporters' Shields. In 2002, the team played in its first CONCACAF Champions Cup, making it to the quarterfinals. The team holds a fierce rivalry with the LA Galaxy known as the California Clásico.
The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference Final. The MLS Cup winner is awarded the title of league champion.
Jeffrey Alan Agoos is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender. He is one of the all-time appearance leaders for the United States national team. Agoos served as the Sporting Director for the New York Red Bulls, and currently is the Vice President of Competition for Major League Soccer.
Cobi N'Gai Jones is an American former professional soccer player and commentator. He is an analyst for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. He has also been seen on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Fox Sports, BeIN Sports, the Pac-12 Network, and as the host of the Totally Football Show: American Edition. In addition, during the 1990s, he hosted the health show Mega-Dose on MTV.
Predrag Radosavljević, better known by the nickname Preki, is a former soccer player and coach. He is currently an assistant coach with Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). He previously coached Sacramento Republic FC and Saint Louis FC in the United Soccer League and coached in MLS with Toronto FC and Chivas USA. Born in Yugoslavia, he represented the United States national team.
Roy Lee Lassiter is an American former professional soccer player. who played as a forward. He played the first few years of his professional career in Costa Rica. He returned to the United States to play in Major League Soccer when that league was launched in 1996, and from 1996 to 1999 he was one of the most prolific goal scorers in MLS. Lassiter is currently the assistant coach of MLS Next Pro club Houston Dynamo 2.
The Commissioner's Trophy is a trophy presented each year by the Commissioner of Baseball to Major League Baseball's (MLB) World Series champion. The trophy depicts flags representing each team in Major League Baseball. It is the only championship trophy of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada in North America that is not named after a particular person.
The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 1999, and has been recognized as a major trophy by the league. It echoes the practice of the top European leagues in which the team with the best record is the champion. Since 2006, the Supporters' Shield winner has earned a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League if they are an American-based team.
The Atlantic Cup is both the name of the rivalry, as well as the trophy awarded to the winner of the regular season series between D.C. United, and the New York Red Bulls. The series occurs twice a year, with each team hosting one match. Although the Atlantic Cup is just one of the now many "I-95 Derbies" it is still considered by many Major League Soccer fans and pundits to be the original derby of the East Coast.
Alan Isaac Rothenberg is an American lawyer and sports executive. He is known for his contributions to and influence on the growth of soccer in the United States. He is the namesake of the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy, which was awarded annually to the winner of the MLS Cup from 1996 to 2007. Rothenberg was president of U.S. Soccer, the governing body of American soccer, during the 1990s and oversaw the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States and the establishment of Major League Soccer in 1996.
CF Montréal is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montréal, Québec, Canada. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Eastern Conference. Founded in 2010 as the Montreal Impact, they began play in the MLS in 2012 as the league's nineteenth franchise and third Canadian club. They are a phoenix club of the original Montreal Impact that played in the various second division leagues of American soccer from 1993 to 2011.
Darlington Joephillip Nagbe is a professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer. Born in Liberia, he played for the United States national team.
The 2018 Major League Soccer season was the 23rd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2018 and concluded on October 28, 2018. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 31, 2018 and concluded with MLS Cup 2018 on December 8, 2018. The league took a nine-day hiatus in early June for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, reduced from previous breaks.
The 2019 Major League Soccer season was the 24th season of Major League Soccer. The regular season began on March 2, 2019 and ended on October 6. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 19 and concluded with MLS Cup 2019 on November 10, under a new format that included 14 teams and consisted only of single-match rounds.
The MLS Cup ring is an award in Major League Soccer given to the winners of the league's annual championship game, the MLS Cup. Since only one Philip F. Anschutz Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itself, the MLS Cup ring offers a collectible memento for the players and team management to keep for themselves to symbolize and recognize their victory. Awarding a ring is traditional in sports in North America, as opposed to the majority of the world where a medal would be award to each individual team member.
The Leagues Cup is an annual association football competition between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX in North America, hosted in the United States and Canada. It debuted in July 2019 with four teams from both leagues participating. The first edition was a single-elimination tournament hosted in the United States with a final played in Las Vegas on September 18, 2019.
