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 Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best season was 2001, when they won the Supporters' Shield with the best regular season finish. In 2002, after four years of lackluster ticket sales and revenues, MLS contracted the Fusion along with its other Florida-based team, the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The Fusion played their home games at Lockhart Stadium.
Brian Ching is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years.
Nicolaus "Nick" Sakiewicz is currently Chief Business Officer of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League. From January 7, 2016, until February 23, 2022, he was the commissioner of the National Lacrosse League.
Donald P. Garber is an American sports executive who has served as the Commissioner of Major League Soccer since 1999. Garber is also the CEO of Soccer United Marketing and a member of the United States Soccer Federation board of directors.
Houston Dynamo FC is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their former owners relocated the San Jose Earthquakes' players and staff to Houston following the 2005 season. For their first six seasons in Houston, the Dynamo were based at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. During the 2012 season, the club moved to Shell Energy Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium in East Downtown Houston.
John Collins is an American professional sports executive, who has served as operating partner of the NY Islanders since Jun 2023. He is also chief executive officer of On Location Experiences, an experiential hospitality business and the official hospitality partner of the National Football League (NFL). Collins is a member of the board of directors of Super Group Holding Company Collins was a founder of Sports Entertainment Acquisition Company, a SPAC which merged with Super Group in a way to take it public. Collins previously served as chief operating officer of the National Hockey League (NHL), which was named "Sports League of the Year" by the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily in 2014 and 2011. Before joining the NHL, he was a senior executive with the NFL and the president and chief executive officer of the Cleveland Browns.
Steve Donner is an American sports executive, team owner, and manager. He is the founding Commissioner of the Professional Box Lacrosse Association, and the co-owner of the Elmira Mammoth of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. He is the former president and CEO of the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, and the founder and CEO of the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League, the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse and the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the United Soccer League. He has also served as chief executive of numerous other professional sports teams and ventures.
Shell Energy Stadium is an American multi-purpose stadium located in Houston, Texas that is home to the Houston Dynamo, a Major League Soccer club and the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League.The stadium is the result of combined commitments of $35.5 million from the city of Houston and $60 million from the Houston Dynamo. Harris County agreed to pay for half of the land in exchange for the ability to jointly own the stadium after its completion date in May 2012. The naming rights to the stadium were formerly held by BBVA USA; the name was changed to that of PNC Financial Services due to BBVA's acquisition by PNC. The stadium's naming rights have been owned by Shell Energy since January 17, 2023.
Since its creation in 1996, Major League Soccer, the highest level of professional soccer in the United States, has had three teams cease operations—the Tampa Bay Mutiny, the Miami Fusion, and Chivas USA. The two Florida-based teams ceased playing after the 2001 season as a result of the league's financial situation, and Chivas USA folded after the 2014 season with plans to rebrand and move to a stadium in downtown Los Angeles. All three situations involved league ownership of the clubs and executive decisions to maintain the viability and competitiveness of the league.
Jeffrey Ajluni is the senior vice president, corporate partnerships, for the Major League Soccer club D.C. United in Washington, D.C., having joined the team in September 2021. Ajluni leads all partnership development and partner activation and services for the team. Prior to joining DC United he was senior vice president of strategic partnerships and business development for the US Travel Association in Washington, D.C. Ajluni oversaw all new business growth for the association, with a focus on developing partnerships and alliances that strategically benefit the U.S. travel industry.
The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season. They play at home at Shell Energy Stadium.
The History of Major League Soccer began in 1988, when the United States Soccer Federation pledged to create a Division 1 professional soccer league as a condition to FIFA awarding the 1994 FIFA World Cup to the United States. Major League Soccer was officially formed in 1995. The league began play in 1996 with 10 teams, and in 1998 grew to 12 teams. MLS experienced some difficulties in its first seasons, with the league losing money in the early years, resulting in two teams folding after the 2001 season. MLS has rebounded since then, with increased attendance and the development of soccer-specific stadiums. With an average attendance of over 20,000 per game, MLS has the third highest average attendance of any sports league in the U.S. after the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), and is the seventh highest attended professional soccer league worldwide. MLS currently has 29 teams, with further expansion to 30 teams planned with the addition of San Diego FC in 2025. As of 2023, MLS is the largest first division professional soccer league in the world by number of clubs.
The 2015 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs. The regular season was held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28 and ended with MLS Cup 2015 on December 6. The defending MLS Cup champions were the LA Galaxy, while Seattle Sounders FC were the defending Supporters' Shield winners.
Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, was an American professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season.
San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference.
The history of professional soccer in Houston spans half a century, and includes clubs playing in numerous different leagues such as the North American Soccer League, the United Soccer League, Major League Soccer and the National Women's Soccer League.
Tom Veit is an American sports executive, mainly working in professional American soccer and football leagues, from Tampa, Florida.
The St. Louis Battlehawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Battlehawks compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a founding member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and are owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha Acquico and Fox Corporation. The Battlehawks play their home games at The Dome at America's Center. The Battlehawks have a franchise regular season record of 10–5 (.667), the third highest win percentage among UFL teams as of its 2024 season.
Bill Manning is a sports executive currently employed by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment; serving as president of Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He has also worked in the front office of the Houston Rockets of the NBA and the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL. He previously was a professional soccer player. Born in the United States, he represented the Puerto Rico national team.
Steven Powell, Hibernian FC's Commercial Director talks about Hibernians new away top, fans reaction to the design and Actor Dougray Scott wearing the new away shirt of Sky Sports Soccer AM programme. http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s194/st22686.htm
