History of Major League Soccer
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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),[1] and is the seventh highest attended professional soccer league worldwide.[2] MLS currently has 29 teams, with further expansion to 30 teams planned with the addition of San Diego FC in 2025.[3] As of 2023, MLS is the largest first division professional soccer league in the world by number of clubs.[4][5]
Background
Major League Soccer is the most recent of three professional men's Division 1 national association football leagues with clubs in the United States and Canada. In the US, with no clubs in Canada, the earliest of such leagues was the American Football Association, which was formed in 1884[6] and allied with The Football Association, becoming a member on February 22, 1909, at an FA meeting chaired by Charles Clegg,[7]
The predecessor of MLS was the top-level
The other professional men's league starting after the NASL folded was the Canada-only Division 1
Establishment
In 1988, in exchange for FIFA awarding the right to host the
Major League Soccer with
The early years of the league gave rise to the
In 1996, the players filed an antitrust lawsuit, Fraser v. Major League Soccer, alleging that MLS's policy of centrally contracting players and limiting player salaries through a salary cap was an illegal conspiracy among team owners. The court ruled that MLS was a single entity and therefore incapable of conspiring with itself, and that the salary cap and other restrictions were a legal method for the League to maintain solvency and competitive parity, and avoid the problems that had plagued the defunct NASL.[16]
Early difficulties
After its first season, MLS suffered from a decline in attendance. The league's low attendance was all the more apparent in light of the fact that eight of the original ten teams began playing in stadiums owned or rented by American football teams, most of the venues with capacities of 60,000 or more.
MLS experimented with rules deviations in its early years in an attempt to "Americanize" what some viewed as a foreign sport. Some of these rules changes were borrowed from the original
MLS eventually conceded that the rule changes, particularly the shootout, had alienated some traditional soccer fans while failing to draw new American sports fans as hoped. The shootout and countdown clock were eliminated after the 1999 season. MLS continued to experiment with the settling of tie games in regular season play. In 2000, a 10-minute golden goal period replaced the shootout for tied games, but was abandoned after 2003 after the sudden-death rules were abolished from the Laws of the Game.
The league's quality was cast into doubt when the U.S. men's national team, which was made up largely of MLS players, was eliminated in the first round of the 1998 World Cup by losing to all opponents in the group stage and finishing in last place.
The league began to market itself on the talents of American players, both experienced veterans and fresh talents. Breakout stars like DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan began making names for themselves in MLS before starring for the U.S. national team, while established players such as Brian McBride, Eddie Pope, and Clint Mathis continued to prove their value to both their MLS clubs and the U.S. national team.
The league's ongoing financial problems led to the departure of then-Commissioner
On the field, the early wave of international players who had joined MLS at its inception drifted into retirement or moved on to clubs elsewhere in the world. The run-up to the 2002 World Cup saw a gradual shift in the league's philosophy toward the development of American talent, a move that would eventually lead to success for U.S. soccer.
Major League Soccer lost an estimated $250 million during its first five years, and lost more than $350 million between its founding and the year 2004.[18][19]
The league's poor financial condition and declining attendances forced MLS to cut expenses to reduce operating losses. Prior to the 2001 season, MLS owners agreed to freeze team budgets and refrain from signing new expensive players.
By 2002, MLS appeared to be in poor condition. Contraction had reduced the number of teams from 12 to 10; MLS was losing money each year; a number of owners pulled out, leaving only three owners in league, with one owner Phil Anschutz owning six teams; and only one team had its own soccer-specific stadium.[22]
Resurgence
The 2002 World Cup, in which the
MLS adopted the IFAB rules and standards in 2003, which included changes such as limiting teams to three substitutions per game. MLS had previously allowed a fourth, goalkeeper-only substitute, but changed the rule after MetroStars coach Bob Bradley used a loophole to insert an outfield player as a fourth substitute.
MLS drew international attention in 2004 with the debut of 14-year-old Freddy Adu for D.C. United, who entered the league with much fanfare and was heralded as one of the top prospects in American soccer history.[26]
MLS underwent a significant transition in the years leading up to the
Many more American players, though they factored little in the U.S. national team picture, did make an impact in MLS. In 2005,
Part of the League's financial stabilization plan involved moving teams out of large American football stadiums and into soccer-specific stadiums. From 2003 to 2008, the League saw the construction of six additional soccer-specific stadiums, largely funded by owners such as
It was also in this era that MLS expanded for the first time since the contraction of 2001.
Designated Players and expansion
The 2007 season was a turning point for Major League Soccer in several ways.[22] Toronto FC joined the league as an expansion team with sellout crowds and thousands of people on the waiting list for tickets; Stan Kroenke purchased the Colorado Rapids with a plan to build a soccer-specific stadium; and David Beckham joined MLS as the league's first designated player, drawing sellout crowds.[22]
Since 2007, Major League Soccer has taken steps to raise the league's level of play and to internationalize the league. Among the first moves in this regard was the Designated Player Rule, which helped MLS bring international stars into the league, despite the relatively meager MLS salary cap, and the creation of the SuperLiga, which placed top MLS clubs against top Mexican clubs in an effort to provide more meaningful competition for both leagues. MLS changed the rules regarding foreign players in the league to allow a total of eight per team.[27] This period also saw expansion reach beyond the United States' borders into Canada, beginning with Toronto FC.
The
, are some of the first Designated Players who have made major contributions to their clubs.The departures of Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, coupled with the return of former U.S. national team stars Claudio Reyna and Brian McBride to New York and Chicago, respectively, highlight the exchange of top prospects to Europe for experienced veterans to MLS. Several other well-known foreign players have followed Beckham and Blanco to MLS, including Guillermo Barros Schelotto to Columbus and Freddie Ljungberg to Seattle.[28]
The league announced "Game First" in 2007, a series of initiatives aimed at improving the league in several ways. This included the creation of an official league anthem by Audiobrain—similar to other competitions from around the world. Two anthems were composed: an orchestral versions for regular season matches and a chorus version for the MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup.[29]
By 2008, San Jose had returned to the league under new ownership. In 2009, the expansion side
The start of the 2011 season saw further expansion with the addition of
In 2012, the
2013–2019
In 2013, MLS introduced New York City FC[34] as the league's 20th team, and Orlando City Soccer Club[35] as the league's 21st team, both to begin playing in 2015. Beginning in summer of 2013 and continuing in the run up to the 2014 World Cup, MLS began signing U.S. stars based in Europe, including Clint Dempsey and Maurice Edu from the English Premier League, and Michael Bradley from Italy's Serie A who joined England International Striker Jermain Defoe in Toronto.[36]
In 2014, MLS announced the league's 22nd team see the league return to Miami under the ownership of David Beckham, Simon Fuller and Marcelo Claure.[37]
MLS announced on October 27, 2014, that
Despite not entering until 2015, New York City FC and Orlando City announced their first designated players – Spain's All-Time leading goalscorer David Villa (New York) and 2007 Ballon d'Or Winner Kaká (Orlando).
In early 2015, the league announced that two teams—
In April 2016, the league's commissioner Don Garber reiterated the intention of the league to expand to 28 teams, with the next round of expansion "likely happening in 2020".[44][45] In December 2016, he updated the expansion plans stating that the league will look to approve the 25th and 26th teams in 2017 and to start play in 2020.[46] In January 2017, the league received bids from 12 ownership groups.[47]
In July 2017, it was reported that Major League Soccer had rejected a $4 billion offer by MP & Silva to acquire all television rights to the league for 10 years following the conclusion of its current contracts with Fox, ESPN, and Univision. While it represents a substantial increase over the current agreements, MP & Silva insisted that the deal would be conditional on Major League Soccer adopting a promotion and relegation system similar to other international leagues. Although the league stated that it rejected the offer due to the exclusive periods that the current rightsholders have to negotiate extensions to their contracts, it was pointed out by the media that Major League Soccer had long-opposed the adoption of promotion and relegation, continuing to utilize the fixed, franchise-based model used in other U.S. sports leagues.[48][49] Furthermore, MP & Silva founder Riccardo Silva appeared to have a conflict of interest because he also owned Miami FC of the NASL, which stood to benefit from such a promotion and relegation system.[49]
In October 2017,
MLS announced on December 20, 2017, that it would be awarding an expansion franchise to Nashville, who would play in a yet-to-be-built 27,000-seat soccer-specific stadium,
On January 29, 2018, MLS awarded
On March 19, 2019, MLS announced a 'multi-year strategic partnership' that made casino operator
In 2013, New York City FC agreed to pay a record $100 million expansion fee for the right to join MLS in 2015.
2020–present
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),[1] and is the seventh highest attended professional soccer league worldwide.[2]
The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of
MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield winners
Results by team
Team | MLS Cups |
Last Cup | Cup Finals |
Supp. Shields |
Last Supp. Shield |
Inaugural MLS Season |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LA Galaxy | 5 | 2014 | 9 | 4 | 2011 | 1996 |
D.C. United | 4 | 2004 | 5 | 4 | 2007 | 1996 |
San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 2003 | 2 | 2 | 2012 | 1996 |
Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 2019 | 4 | 1 | 2014 | 2009 |
Sporting Kansas City | 2 | 2013 | 3 | 1 | 2000 | 1996 |
Houston Dynamo FC | 2 | 2007 | 4 | 0 | — | 2006 |
Columbus Crew | 3 | 2023 | 4 | 3 | 2009 | 1996 |
Toronto FC | 1 | 2017 | 3 | 1 | 2017 | 2007 |
Chicago Fire FC | 1 | 1998 | 3 | 1 | 2003 | 1998 |
Portland Timbers | 1 | 2015 | 3 | 0 | — | 2011 |
Colorado Rapids | 1 | 2010 | 2 | 0 | — | 1996 |
Real Salt Lake | 1 | 2009 | 2 | 0 | — | 2005 |
Atlanta United FC | 1 | 2018 | 1 | 0 | — | 2017 |
New York City FC | 1 | 2021 | 1 | 0 | — | 2015 |
New York Red Bulls | 0 | — | 1 | 3 | 2018 | 1996 |
FC Dallas | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 2016 | 1996 |
Philadelphia Union | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 2020 | 2010 |
Los Angeles FC | 1 | 2022 | 2 | 2 | 2022 | 2018 |
New England Revolution | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | 2021 | 1996 |
Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2011 |
CF Montreal
|
0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2012 |
Orlando City SC | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2015 |
Minnesota United FC | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2017 |
FC Cincinnati | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 2023 | 2019 |
Inter Miami CF | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2020 |
Nashville SC | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2020 |
Austin FC | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2021 |
Charlotte FC | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2022 |
St Louis City SC
|
0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2023 |
See also
- History of soccer in the United States
- Expansion of Major League Soccer
- List of Major League Soccer defunct clubs
Notes
- ^ A Miami team announced in January 2018 and later unveiled as Inter Miami CF only paid a $25 million fee. David Beckham, the public face of the ownership group, received an option for a future MLS team at that specified fee as part of his original MLS playing contract in 2007.[62]
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