MLS Cup

MLS Cup is the big championship game of Major League Soccer. It happens every year in November or December and is the last game of the MLS Cup playoffs. The two teams that win their conferences—the Eastern and the Western—play in the MLS Cup to see who becomes the league champion.

Unlike most soccer leagues around the world, MLS uses a playoff system after the regular season to pick its champion. Other big sports leagues in the United States and Canada also use this playoff style. The team with the most points during the regular season is honored with the Supporters' Shield, but the real champion is decided in the MLS Cup.

The winner of the MLS Cup gets to play in the next season's CONCACAF Champions Cup. This is one of four spots for teams in the country. The three Canadian teams in MLS have their own way to qualify as well, using either the Leagues Cup or the Canadian Championship. If something gets confusing with the spots, the next best U.S. team that didn’t already qualify gets to go.

The first ever MLS Cup was played on October 20, 1996, where D.C. United beat the LA Galaxy. The LA Galaxy has won the most MLS Cups, with six titles so far. Over the years, the trophy has had three different designs: the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy from 1996 to 1998, a new version of it from 1999 to 2007, and the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy from 2008 onward.

History

D.C. United dynasty

The Major League Soccer championship, called the MLS Cup, started when the league was created. In the early years, D.C. United were very successful, appearing in the first four finals and winning three times.

The first MLS Cup in 1996 was between D.C. United and the LA Galaxy. The Galaxy led 2–0 but United came back to tie the game. In overtime, Eddie Pope scored the winning goal for United.

In 1997, United won again at RFK Stadium, beating the Colorado Rapids 2–1. Jaime Moreno was named the best player of the match for his goal.

United’s run ended in 1998 when they lost to the new Chicago Fire team 2–0. But in 1999, they won again, beating the Galaxy 2–0 in the final.

Rise of the California Clásico

In 2000, a new team, the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City), won their first MLS Cup, beating the Fire 1–0.

From 2001 to 2005, the finals often featured the California Clásico between the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes. In 2001, the Earthquakes won 2–1 with a goal from Landon Donovan.

In 2002, the New England Revolution played the Galaxy in front of over 61,000 fans at Gillette Stadium. The Galaxy won in overtime.

In 2003, the Earthquakes beat the Fire 4–2 in the highest-scoring final ever.

In 2004, United won again, beating Kansas City 3–2.

In 2005, the Galaxy beat the Earthquakes to win their second title.

Format changes

Before 2005, only teams that nearly won the regular season title could reach the MLS Cup. In 2005, the Galaxy won the MLS Cup even though they were ninth in the league. This led to changes so more teams could qualify for the playoffs.

Scudetto era

In 2006, MLS started a tradition where the previous year’s champions wear a special badge on their jersey. The badge changed a few times over the years.

"Buffalo Bills" of MLS

The New England Revolution reached the MLS Cup finals three times in a row but lost each time. They were compared to an American football team that also lost four big games in a row.

Underdogs winning the cup

In 2008, the Columbus Crew, who were top of the league, faced the New York Red Bulls, who barely made the playoffs. The Crew won easily, 3–1.

In 2009, Real Salt Lake beat the LA Galaxy in a close match decided by penalty kicks.

In 2010, the Colorado Rapids beat FC Dallas 2–1 in overtime to win the title.

LA Galaxy dynasty

From 2011 to 2014, the LA Galaxy were very successful, winning three MLS Cups in four years. They won their fifth MLS Cup in 2014.

Expansion teams from Cascadia, Canada, and Atlanta

In 2015, the Portland Timbers won, beating the Columbus Crew 2–1 with a very fast goal from Diego Valeri.

In 2016, the Seattle Sounders FC won against Toronto FC in a match that ended in a tie and was decided by penalty kicks.

In 2017, Toronto FC beat Seattle 2–0 and became the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup.

In 2018, Atlanta United FC won in just their second season, beating the Portland Timbers 2–0 in front of a huge crowd.

In 2019, Seattle won again, beating Toronto 3–1.

In 2020, despite changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seattle Sounders reached the final again but lost to the Columbus Crew 3–0.

Broadcasting

United States

The MLS Cup championship game has been shown on different TV channels over the years. From 1996 to 2008, it was on ABC, and from 2009 to 2014, it moved to ESPN. Since 2015, ABC and Fox have taken turns broadcasting the game. For example, the MLS Cup 2019 was on ABC, marking their return after 2008. ABC also showed some playoff games, like the MLS Cup 2021. In Spanish, the game has been shown on networks like TeleFutura, Galavision, TeleFutura/UniMás, and Univision.

From 2015 to 2022, playoff games were shown on ESPN, Fox, or Univision. With a new deal starting in 2023, FOX Sports became the main broadcaster for all MLS Cup games.

Canada

In Canada, MLS Cup coverage began in 2007 when Toronto FC joined the league. The game moved between different channels in the early years, with various networks showing it. Since 2010, TSN has been the main channel for MLS Cup in Canada. In French, RDS has the exclusive rights to show the games.

Format

See also: MLS Cup playoffs

The way teams qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs has changed many times over the years.

From 1996 to 1999 and again from 2003 to 2006, the top four teams from each conference made the playoffs.

In 2000 and 2001, the three division winners and the next five teams with the best records joined the playoffs.

In 2002, the top eight teams overall qualified, no matter their conference.

Later formats have included different numbers of teams and various rules for how they compete, with some seasons having special changes due to events like the COVID-19 pandemic.

The playoff matches are decided by total goals over two games, with extra time and penalty kicks used if needed. The away goals rule has sometimes been used and sometimes not.

In recent years, more teams have joined the playoffs, and some matches are now best-of-three series. The MLS Cup final is always a single game played in late November or early December.

Sponsorship

Since 2023, the MLS Cup has been supported by the German car company Audi. Audi was already the main supporter of the MLS Cup playoffs and the MLS Golden Boot.

Champions

Main article: List of MLS Cup finals

The winner of Major League Soccer's MLS Cup, the last game of the MLS Cup Playoffs, becomes the league champion for that season. The playoffs happen after the regular season and include the top nine teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The first MLS Cup final was played on October 20, 1996. So far, the LA Galaxy holds the record for the most championships with six titles. The New England Revolution has lost the most finals, five times, without winning any. The same team has won the championship in two or more years in a row three times.

Records and statistics

MLS Cup titles

As of 2025, 21 of the 32 teams in Major League Soccer have played in the MLS Cup final, and 16 have won the championship. The LA Galaxy has been in the final the most times and has won six championships in ten appearances. The New England Revolution has been in the final five times but has not won. The Chicago Fire won the MLS Cup in their first season, joining a few other teams from past leagues that also won in their first season.

MLS Cup finalists records in CONCACAF competition

For most of the league’s history, only teams from the U.S. could qualify for CONCACAF competitions through MLS. Canadian teams had to win a separate competition to qualify. As of 2020, the only Canadian team to win both the MLS Cup and the Canadian Championship was Toronto FC in 2017. Starting with the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, Canadian clubs can now qualify through MLS slots.

Key

Trophies

Main article: Philip F. Anschutz Trophy

The winning team of the MLS Cup gets a special trophy called the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy. This trophy is named after a person who helped support soccer in the United States. Usually, the team gets the trophy during a ceremony on the field.

Before the big moment, the teams that made it to the final get silver medals with the league's logo on them. Then, the champions get gold medals, and finally, the trophy is given to the team's captain. Over the years, the MLS Cup winners have received three different trophies. The first three winners got the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy. Later, the trophy was changed a few times before becoming the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy we see today.

Venues

In the history of the MLS Cup, eight matches have been held in the Greater Los Angeles area. These games took place at different stadiums, including the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, and Banc of California Stadium. Columbus, Ohio has hosted the MLS Cup final four times, mostly at Historic Crew Stadium and once at Lower.com Field. Three areas have each hosted the MLS Cup three times: the Greater Boston area (at Foxboro Stadium and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts), Washington, D.C. (at RFK Stadium), and Toronto (at BMO Field).

Before 2012, the MLS Cup location was chosen before the season started. Starting in 2012, the team with the most points during the regular season gets to host the MLS Cup. If two teams have the same number of points, the team with more wins hosts. For example, in the MLS Cup 2022, Los Angeles FC and the Philadelphia Union both had 67 points, but LAFC had more wins and hosted the game.

Italics indicate a stadium that is now inactive.

Most Valuable Player

After each championship game, a player from the winning team is named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). Often, this is the player who scores or helps score the winning goal. For example, this happened in several years including (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2007), (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2008), (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2010#Post-match), (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2017#Match), (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2019#Match), (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2020#Match), and (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2025#Match).

Sometimes, the MVP award goes to a goalkeeper instead. This happened in (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2000), (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2009), (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2016), and (/wiki/MLS_Cup_2021) with players like Tony Meola, Nick Rimando, Stefan Frei, and Sean Johnson. These goalkeepers helped their teams win by stopping important shots or scoring in special shoot-out rounds.

List of MVP award recipients

Players with multiple MLS Cup titles

Many players have won the MLS Cup more than once, usually with teams that won the title in back-to-back years or close together. Some examples include teams like D.C. United from 1996 to 1999, San Jose Earthquakes in 2001 and 2003, LA Galaxy in 2002, 2005, and 2011–2012, and Houston Dynamo in 2006–2007.

One special player, Brian Mullan, won the MLS Cup with four different teams. Others, like Craig Waibel, Alejandro Moreno, Ezra Hendrickson, and Darlington Nagbe, have each won the title with three different teams.