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MLS or Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league authorized by the United States Soccer Federation and presents the sport's highest level in the United States. It was founded back in 1993 when the U.S. agreed to host the FIFA World Cup in 1994. The inaugural season of the league took place in 1996, and during that time, it comprised just ten teams. Later, it expanded, and today it has a total of 27 teams. Among all these teams, 24 are from the United States and three from Canada. As per the future prospects of the league, it is planning to expand itself to 30 teams by the regular season of 2023.
These 27 teams of the league are divided into two conferences, named Eastern and Western. The Eastern Conference has 14 teams, while Western Conference has 13. Every MLS team is allowed to add up to 30 players who are all eligible for the selection to each 18-player game-day squad during the regular season and playoffs.
If you are a soccer enthusiast interested in knowing more about each MLS team, scroll down. We have curated this article for all sports lovers who want to expand their knowledge about the league. So, read on and dive into the MLS world.
Atlanta United FC
Atlanta United FC is an Atlanta-based American professional soccer club that is a member of the Eastern Conference. It was founded back in 2014 and is the most recent winner of the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup. Since its inception, it has set several league records and has become one of the clubs with the largest fan bases in MLS.
Chicago Fire FC
Chicago Fire FC is an American professional soccer club based in Chicago and is a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was founded in 1997 as the Chicago Fire Soccer Club and played its first game in 1998. This MLS team has won multiple titles and awards during all these years, including MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup, MLS Supporters' Shield, MLS Wooden Spoon, and more.
FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati, widely recognized as FC Cincinnati, is in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. This club was founded a few years back in 2018 and played its first match on March 2, 2019, against Seattle Sounders FC. This MLS team has set several records in these two years and achieved multiple awards for its outstanding performance.
Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew is an American soccer club that is a member of the league's Eastern Conference and is based in Columbus, Ohio. This MLS team started in 1996 as one of the ten charter clubs of the league, and today it is a winner of six major trophies. These trophies include the MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, U.S. Open Cup. The club has also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League four times, making it one of the best teams in the league.
D.C. United
Washington, D.C.-based American professional soccer club, D.C. United is one of the top clubs of the league. The club was founded in 1996, and in the initial few years, it was regarded as the most successful club, winning eight titles. This MLS team also holds records for Supporters' Shields, four MLS Cups, and has become the U.S. Open Cup champion three times.
Inter Miami CF
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, a.k.a. Inter Miami CF, is a Florida-based soccer club founded in 2018. The club started to play in the league in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it didn’t get much time to showcase its abilities. On August 23, 2020, this MLS team recorded its first victory over Orlando City.
CF Montréal
Club de Foot Montréal, or CF Montréal, is a Canadian professional soccer club that is a member of the Eastern Conference. This MLS team was established back in 2010 but played its first game in 2012 as an expansion team of the league. During the time of inception, it was known as Montreal Impact, but in 2021, it rebranded itself as CF Montréal. Along with the name, it also unveiled a new badge and colors.
Nashville SC
As the name suggests, Nashville Soccer Club is a Nashville, Tennessee-based MLS team nicknamed “The Six-Strings.” The club was founded in 2017 but had its inaugural MLS match in 2020. The first MLS match of the team was played in front of 59,069 people, which made it the highest attended soccer event in Tennessee.
New England Revolution
New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club that competes in the Eastern Conference. This club is based in Greater Boston and is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS. Although the Revolution Club was founded in 1994, this MLS Team won its first major trophy in the 2007 U.S. Open Cup. After that, it won the 2008 North American SuperLiga and reached five MLS Cup finals in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2014.
New York City FC
The New York City Football Club is a New York City-based club that competes in MLS as a member of the Eastern Conference. This MLS team had its first play in 2005, and since then, it has progressed like no other team in the league. As per Forbes report 2019, this club was estimated as the seventh most valuable club in MLS with over $385 million net worth.
New York Red Bulls
New York Red Bulls is an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The inception of this MLS Team took place in October 1994 and had its first game in 1996 as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. Later in 2006, it rebranded itself as New York Red Bulls, the name it is known today.
Orlando City SC
Orlando City Soccer Club is an American MLS team based in Orlando, Florida. This club announced its participation in the league in 2013 as the 21st franchise but had its first play in 2015. Former Brazil international player Kaká was among the first players of the club. Since its inception, the club has won multiple titles and has become one of the best teams in the league.
Philadelphia Union
A member of the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia Union, is an American soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club was founded in 2008 and began playing in 2010 as an expansion team. Although it lost its first match, this MLS Team made a comeback in the 2011 season with a 3rd position in the Eastern Conference and 8th overall in the league.
Toronto FC
Toronto FC or Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club. It joined MLS in 2017 and was the first Canadian-based franchise in the entire league. The year it became an MLS team, it won the domestic treble, MLS Cup, Supporters' Shield, and Canadian Championship. It has also won the Canadian Championship seven times. In 2019, the club was evaluated and was estimated to have a value of US$395 million.
Austin FC
Austin FC is an American professional soccer club part of the league as a member of the Western Conference. This MLS team was established in 2018 and had its first play in the 2021 season. It is the first team of a major professional sports league to play in Texas' capital. The club’s first match was against Los Angeles FC at Banc of California Stadium, losing with a score of 0-2. However, it had its first victory in the next game with a 3–1 score against the Colorado Rapids.
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids is a soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. This MLS Team is a member of the Western Conference, which was founded in 1995. The following year, it played its first season, and since then, it had a roller-coaster journey with several victories as well as many defeats. In 2010, it won the MLS Cup and multiple other titles after that.
FC Dallas
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex-based club, FC Dallas, is one of the MLS teams competing in the league as a part of the Western Conference. This club was established in 1995 and began playing the following year as a charter club of the league. At the time of inception, it was named Dallas Burn but later in 2004, it adopted its current name. During all these years, it had multiple victories with first Supporters' Shield in 2016, runners-up in the MLS Cup in 2010, the U.S. Open Cup in 1997 and 2016, and more.
Houston Dynamo FC
As the name suggests, Houston Dynamo FC is a Houston-based American professional football club started back in December 2005. After a few months, the club’s first match was played in April at Robertson Stadium in front of over 25,462 people. In the first match, this MLS Team beat Colorado Rapids with a score of 5–2, and this helped the team come into the limelight. After that, it won several awards and titles like MLS Cup champions, the U.S. Open Cup, and more.
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area and competes as a member of the Western Conference. Before 2015, this MLS Team spent ten seasons in Eastern Conference and played for them. This club began its play in 1996 as a charter team, and in 2010, it rebranded itself. When it comes to its achievement, it has won the MLS Cup twice, the Supporters' Shield, and the U.S. Open Cup four times.
LA Galaxy
Los Angeles metropolitan area-based LA Galaxy soccer club is an MLS team that is a member of the Western Conference. This team started its play in 1996 as one of the ten charter members of the league. Among all the other clubs of MLS, LA Galaxy is one of the most successful teams with an outstanding record of victories. It won five times MLS Cups, eight times Western Conference regular-season title, four times Supporters' Shields, two U.S. Open Cups, one CONCACAF Champions' Cup title, and more.
Los Angeles FC
Los Angeles FC is an American professional soccer team founded on October 30, 2014, and started playing its first season in 2018 as an expansion team. The first match was played against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, and LAFC won the game. During these years, there have been several titles won by this MLS side, including Supporters' Shield, MVP Award, and Western Conference regular-season title.
Minnesota United FC
Minnesota United FC, shortened as MUFC, is a Western Conference MLS team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The club was established in 2015 and came into the field in 2017 as the 22nd club of the league. The inaugural match of this club was against Portland Timbers at Providence Park. It just won the U.S. Open Cup once and was a runner-up in 2019. Talking about the ownership, this team is led by Bill McGuire, the former CEO of UnitedHealth Group.
Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers is the league's Western Conference member based in Portland, Oregon. This team was established when Portland city was awarded an expansion berth to Major League Soccer in 2009. Later in 2013, it finished its first regular season, and in 2015 it won the Western Conference Finals in the playoffs. Recently in 2020, this MLS team won the one-off MLS Is Back Tournament against Orlando City. This victory of Timbers qualified it for the championship league once again.
Real Salt Lake
Abbreviated as RSL, Real Salt Lake is a Salt Lake City metropolitan area-based soccer club that stepped into the MLS world as an expansion team in 2005. This team won the 2009 MLS Cup; then, in 2013, it won the U.S. Open Cup. This MLS team was also a runner-up in the Supporters Shield in 2010 and MLS Cup in 2013. It also has several other achievements like the runners-up in the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League, the 2019 USL Championship winner, and more.
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes is a Western Conference member of the Major Soccer League based in San Jose, California. This MLS team was founded in 1994 and started its play in 1996 as a charter member of the league. It won its first game against D.C. United with a score of 1-0. Later, it won two MLS Cup titles, two Supporters' Shields, MLS Wooden Spoon four times, MLS Fair Play Award twice, and more. In its first CONCACAF Champions Cup, the club made it to the quarterfinals.
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC is a Western Conference member of the league established in 2007 but began its play in 2009 as an MLS expansion team. The inaugural match of this MLS team was against the New York Red Bulls and won with a score of 3–0. It is another team in the league considered to be highly successful. Its victories include the U.S. Open Cup four times, the Supporters' Shield once, the MLS Cup twice, and runner-up in multiple matches.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC is a Canadian-based soccer club that has been a part of the MLS team since 2009. This club replaced the USSF Division 2 team when it joined the league. It played its inaugural match in the 2011 MLS season with the first match against rival Canadians Toronto FC. The first regular-season of Vancouver Whitecaps FC ended with 11 wins, three losses, and ten draws. It came 5th in the Western Conference and 11th on the overall league table.
Final Words
Here are all the 27 teams of Major League Soccer. We hope that this article has helped you know your favorite MLS team better and the other teams of the league. If you are interested in learning more about the sport and its latest updates, make sure you check out sportsreviews.com. It is a one-stop destination for all your sports needs.
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