The MLS Cup is the annual championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-level men's soccer league for the United States and Canada. The match marks the conclusion of the MLS Cup Playoffs, a five-round knockout competition contested by the top nine teams from each of the league's two conferences.[1][2] The playoffs tournament is organized by the league at the end of the regular season in a format which is similar to other professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, but unlike most soccer leagues.[3] The league also awards the Supporters' Shield to teams that have the most points during the regular season. Both the MLS Cup champion and Supporters' Shield winner qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League, contested by the champions of CONCACAF leagues in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.[4] The MLS Cup champion also qualifies for the Campeones Cup, a friendly held since 2018 against the winners of the Mexican Campeón de Campeones from Liga MX.[5]
First contested in 1996, the MLS Cup was originally hosted by a predetermined neutral site selected by the league before the regular season.[6] Since the 2012 edition, the match has been hosted by the remaining team with the highest regular season standing.[6] The final, originally contested in October, was moved to November and later December as the length of the regular season and playoffs were extended by the league.[7] The playoffs originally allowed for lower-ranked seeds, known as wild cards, to be placed into different sides of the bracket regardless of their actual conference. As a result, several MLS Cups have featured two teams from the same conference.[8]
The LA Galaxy are the reigning cup-holders, having defeated the New York Red Bulls in the 2024 final for their sixth title. They hold the record for most MLS Cup titles, having won six times in ten appearances.[9][10] The championship has been won by the same team in two or more consecutive years on three occasions, and the match has featured consecutive sets of finalists on three occasions.[11] Four finals have featured two teams participating as finalists for the first time.[12] Nine teams have also won "the double", claiming the MLS Cup and either the Supporters' Shield, the U.S. Open Cup, or the Canadian Championship during the same season; only Toronto FC has won a treble, having achieved it in 2017.[13][14]Landon Donovan has played in seven MLS Cup finals and totaled 726 minutes—both competition records.[15]
The highest recorded attendance for the MLS Cup was set in the 2018 final, with 73,019 spectators at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.[16] From 1996 to 2008, the English broadcast of the MLS Cup was carried in the United States on terrestrial network ABC; it was moved to sister channel ESPN for the following seven editions.[17] From 2015 to 2022, ESPN and Fox held rights to alternating editions of the cup;[18] the 2019 cup, originally slated to be broadcast on ESPN, was moved to ABC.[17] The Spanish language rights for the MLS Cup in the U.S. were awarded to Univision in 2007 and the match was aired on their various networks until 2023.[19][20] The U.S. linear television rights beginning in 2023 are held by Fox in English and Fox Deportes in Spanish; the MLS Cup final will air on those channels as well as Apple TV+'s MLS Season Pass streaming service worldwide.[21] In Canada, the MLS Cup has been broadcast in English by TSN since 2011 and in French by TVA Sports since 2017.[22] The largest television audience for an MLS Cup broadcast was the 2016 final, which drew 3.5 million viewers in the United States and Canada.[23][24]
As of 2024[update], 19 of the 32 teams that have played in the league have appeared at an MLS Cup final, and 15 have won a championship.[29] The LA Galaxy has appeared at and won the MLS Cup the most times, with six championships in ten appearances.[9] The New England Revolution has appeared five times as a finalist, but has not won an MLS Cup.[29][30] The Chicago Fire won the MLS Cup in their inaugural season in 1998; the only previous professional American soccer team to win a league championship in their inaugural season was the Philadelphia Atoms in the 1973 NASL season.[31]
From 1996 to 2011, the MLS Cup was hosted by a neutral site selected before the start of the season in a manner similar to the National Football League's Super Bowl championship. Three teams advanced to the final after being named as hosts: D.C. United in 1997, the New England Revolution in 2002, and the LA Galaxy in 2011.[32][33] Since the 2012 edition, the match has been hosted by the finalist with the highest regular season standing.[6] Several teams with smaller or inadequate stadiums have also considered using larger American football stadiums to host the MLS Cup, but all post-2012 editions have been played at regular MLS venues.[34] The move towards a non-neutral venue was deemed a risk due to the cold November and December weather in some northern cities, as well as the lack of adequate stadiums for some teams.[35]
^ abcThis final was decided by a golden goal in extra time.
^ abThe 2020 final was originally scheduled for November 7, but was delayed to December 12 and played in front of a limited-capacity crowd due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28]
^Teams are listed by their official name at the time of their most recent final.
^Stadiums are listed by their official name at the time of their most recent final.
^"2022 MLS Cup Game Guide". Major League Soccer. November 3, 2022. pp. 41–42. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
^ ab"2023 MLS Cup Game Guide". Major League Soccer. December 2023. pp. 8–9, 45–46. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
