Summary
Major League Soccer (USA1) is currently comprised of 30 clubs, 27 from the United States and 3 from Canada (Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver). Major League Soccer expanded to 30 teams with the addition of San Diego FC for the 2025 season. At the end of the 2025 regular season, the USA1 teams listed below qualify for the following non-league play:
- 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup (CNCFCL) Round of 16:
- 2025 USA1 MLS Cup champion
- 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup (CNCFCL) Round 1:
- 2025 USA1 MLS Eastern/Western Conference champion with the most points
- 2025 USA1 Supporter's Shield (Aggregate Table) champion (or USA1 non-MLS Cup champion with the most points)
- best and 2nd best 2025 USA1 Supporter's Shield (Aggregate Table) non-champions with the most points)
If one of the USA1 teams listed above wins the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (USACUP1), the next best USA1 team without a 2025 CNCFCL berth will receive a Round 1 2025 CNCFCL berth.
Leagues Pyramid - United States
| Abbrev | League | # of Teams |
|---|---|---|
| USA1 | Major League Soccer | 30 |
| USA2 | USL Championship | 24 |
| USA3A | MLS Next Pro | 29 |
| USA3B | USL League One | 14 |
| USA3C | National Independent Soccer Assocation (NISA) | 9 |
Competition Structure
Season | # of Teams | ||
| Regular 22 Feb 2025 - 18 Oct 2025 | Playoffs 21 October 2025 - 9 Dec 2025 | 30: United States (27), Canada (3) | |
Season Format
Each team currently plays an "unbalanced" schedule of 34 regular season matches, with 28 Conference matches and 6 Nonconference matches. With the United States and Canada being very large countries, the current USA1 schedule cuts down on travel time and puts a premium on building regional rivalries. Conference standings and play-offs also nullifies any advantages/disadvantages that teams in one conference might have over another. Table ranking ties are broken by (1) total wins, (2) goal difference, (3) total goals scored, (4) disciplinary points, (5) away goals difference, (6) away goals scored, (7) home goals scored, (8) home goals difference, then (9) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or a draw (3 or more clubs tied).
Playoffs
The 2025 USA1 Playoffs start immediately after the 2025 USA1 Regular season. The Top 9 teams in each conference qualify for the Playoffs. In the Wild Card Round, the 8th and 9th place teams in each conference have a 1 match knockout match at the 8th place team's home venue. In Round One, from each conference the the 1st place team plays the Wild Card Round winner, the 2nd place team plays the 7th place team, the 3rd place team plays the 6th place team, and the 4th place team plays the 5th place team in "best of 3" matches. In the Conference Semifinals, the highest remaining seed hosts the lowest remaining seed, and the 2nd highest remaining seed host the 3rd highest remaining seed in Knockout matches. In each match, if it is still tied after regular time, two 15 minute overtime periods are played. If still tied after the overtime periods, penalty kicks are taken. The 2025 USA1 Cup Final is a single Championship match played at the Home field of the championship finalist with the most points acquired during the 2025 USA1 Regular season.
Relegation
There is no Promotion/Relegation between the USA1 and the USA2.
More Info...
| League | Home | Road | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | MP | W - D - L | PTS | CPTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
| EASTERN | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia Union | 31 | 18 -6-7 | 60 | - | 50 | 33 | 17 | 16 | 11 -4-1 | 37 | 35 | 15 | 20 | 15 | 7 -2-6 | 23 | 15 | 18 | -3 |
| 2 | FC Cincinnati | 31 | 18 -4-9 | 58 | - | 47 | 39 | 8 | 15 | 8 -2-5 | 26 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 16 | 10 -2-4 | 32 | 24 | 21 | 3 |
| 3 | New York City FC | 30 | 16 -5-9 | 53 | - | 46 | 35 | 11 | 15 | 11 -0-4 | 33 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 5 -5-5 | 20 | 19 | 20 | -1 |
| 4 | Charlotte FC | 31 | 17 -2-12 | 53 | - | 51 | 42 | 9 | 15 | 12 -1-2 | 37 | 30 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 5 -1-10 | 16 | 21 | 30 | -9 |
| 5 | Inter Miami CF | 28 | 15 -7-6 | 52 | - | 60 | 46 | 14 | 14 | 9 -3-2 | 30 | 33 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 6 -4-4 | 22 | 27 | 26 | 1 |
| 6 | Orlando City SC | 30 | 14 -9-7 | 51 | - | 58 | 43 | 15 | 15 | 8 -3-4 | 27 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 15 | 6 -6-3 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 4 |
| 7 | Nashville SC | 31 | 15 -5-11 | 50 | - | 52 | 39 | 13 | 15 | 10 -3-2 | 33 | 31 | 11 | 20 | 16 | 5 -2-9 | 17 | 21 | 28 | -7 |
| 8 | Columbus Crew | 31 | 13 -11-7 | 50 | - | 51 | 47 | 4 | 16 | 8 -5-3 | 29 | 26 | 19 | 7 | 15 | 5 -6-4 | 21 | 25 | 28 | -3 |
| 9 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 13 -6-11 | 45 | - | 57 | 53 | 4 | 15 | 5 -5-5 | 20 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 15 | 8 -1-6 | 25 | 36 | 30 | 6 |
| 10 | New York Red Bull | 31 | 12 -7-12 | 43 | - | 45 | 40 | 5 | 15 | 10 -3-2 | 33 | 34 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 2 -4-10 | 10 | 11 | 21 | -10 |
| 11 | New England | 31 | 8 -8-15 | 32 | - | 39 | 45 | -6 | 15 | 3 -3-9 | 12 | 16 | 23 | -7 | 16 | 5 -5-6 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 1 |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 30 | 5 -12-13 | 27 | - | 30 | 37 | -7 | 15 | 2 -6-7 | 12 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 15 | 3 -6-6 | 15 | 18 | 21 | -3 |
| 13 | Atlanta United | 30 | 5 -12-13 | 27 | - | 37 | 55 | -18 | 16 | 4 -7-5 | 19 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 14 | 1 -5-8 | 8 | 9 | 27 | -18 |
| 14 | DC United | 31 | 5 -10-16 | 25 | - | 29 | 58 | -29 | 15 | 2 -7-6 | 13 | 13 | 24 | -11 | 16 | 3 -3-10 | 12 | 16 | 34 | -18 |
| 15 | CF Montréal | 31 | 5 -9-17 | 24 | - | 29 | 55 | -26 | 16 | 2 -5-9 | 11 | 13 | 32 | -19 | 15 | 3 -4-8 | 13 | 16 | 23 | -7 |
| WESTERN | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Diego | 31 | 17 -6-8 | 57 | - | 57 | 38 | 19 | 16 | 7 -5-4 | 26 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 15 | 10 -1-4 | 31 | 31 | 22 | 9 |
| 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 29 | 16 -7-6 | 55 | - | 56 | 31 | 25 | 14 | 9 -3-2 | 30 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 15 | 7 -4-4 | 25 | 20 | 15 | 5 |
| 3 | Minnesota United | 31 | 15 -9-7 | 54 | - | 51 | 36 | 15 | 16 | 7 -4-5 | 25 | 26 | 20 | 6 | 15 | 8 -5-2 | 29 | 25 | 16 | 9 |
| 4 | Los Angeles FC | 28 | 13 -8-7 | 47 | - | 53 | 36 | 17 | 14 | 8 -2-4 | 26 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 5 -6-3 | 21 | 29 | 24 | 5 |
| 5 | Seattle Sounders | 29 | 12 -9-8 | 45 | - | 51 | 43 | 8 | 14 | 8 -5-1 | 29 | 34 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 4 -4-7 | 16 | 17 | 25 | -8 |
| 6 | Portland Timbers | 30 | 11 -9-10 | 42 | - | 38 | 40 | -2 | 15 | 7 -5-3 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 15 | 4 -4-7 | 16 | 15 | 20 | -5 |
| 7 | Austin FC | 29 | 11 -8-10 | 41 | - | 31 | 36 | -5 | 14 | 5 -7-2 | 22 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 15 | 6 -1-8 | 19 | 17 | 24 | -7 |
| 8 | Colorado Rapids | 31 | 11 -6-14 | 39 | - | 41 | 52 | -11 | 15 | 8 -2-5 | 26 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 16 | 3 -4-9 | 13 | 19 | 34 | -15 |
| 9 | FC Dallas | 30 | 9 -10-11 | 37 | - | 45 | 49 | -4 | 16 | 5 -3-8 | 18 | 23 | 24 | -1 | 14 | 4 -7-3 | 19 | 22 | 25 | -3 |
| 10 | Houston Dynamo | 31 | 9 -9-13 | 36 | - | 40 | 49 | -9 | 16 | 5 -3-8 | 18 | 18 | 26 | -8 | 15 | 4 -6-5 | 18 | 22 | 23 | -1 |
| 11 | San Jose Earthquakes | 31 | 9 -8-14 | 35 | - | 56 | 58 | -2 | 16 | 4 -6-6 | 18 | 35 | 31 | 4 | 15 | 5 -2-8 | 17 | 21 | 27 | -6 |
| 12 | Real Salt Lake | 29 | 10 -4-15 | 34 | - | 31 | 41 | -10 | 15 | 7 -1-7 | 22 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 14 | 3 -3-8 | 12 | 12 | 21 | -9 |
| 13 | St Louis City SC | 31 | 7 -7-17 | 28 | - | 39 | 52 | -13 | 15 | 4 -5-6 | 17 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 16 | 3 -2-11 | 11 | 18 | 29 | -11 |
| 14 | Sporting KC | 31 | 7 -6-18 | 27 | - | 45 | 63 | -18 | 16 | 4 -4-8 | 16 | 25 | 32 | -7 | 15 | 3 -2-10 | 11 | 20 | 31 | -11 |
| 15 | LA Galaxy | 30 | 4 -9-17 | 21 | - | 37 | 61 | -24 | 14 | 4 -2-8 | 14 | 19 | 25 | -6 | 16 | 0 -7-9 | 7 | 18 | 36 | -18 |
CNCFCL & Playoffs - Round One Playoffs - Round One Wild Card Round | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fixtures
 | Seattle Sounders | Q2 Stadium |
 | Real Salt Lake | BMO Stadium (LA) |
 | Inter Miami CF | Yankee Stadium |
 | Portland Timbers | BC Place Stadium |
 | Inter Miami CF | BMO Field |
 | CF Montréal | Bank of America Stadium |
 | Philadelphia Union | Audi Field (DC) |
 | Atlanta United | Gillette Stadium |
 | New York City FC | Sports Illustrated Stadium |
 | Columbus Crew | Soldier Field |
 | Houston Dynamo | GEODIS Park |
 | Los Angeles FC | Energizer Park |
 | Minnesota United | Dick's Sporting Goods Park |
| Austin FC | America First Field |
 | Sporting KC | Dignity Health Sports Park |
| FC Dallas | Providence Park |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | Lumen Field |
 | San Jose Earthquakes | Snapdragon Stadium |
 | Orlando City SC | TQL Stadium |
| Chicago Fire | Chase Stadium (FL) |
Results
| 13 | St Louis City SC | PayPal Park |
| 23 | FC Cincinnati | Dignity Health Sports Park |
| 03 | Chicago Fire | Alliannz Field (MN) |
| 02 | Vancouver Whitecaps | Children's Mercy Park |
| 10 | Portland Timbers | Shell Energy Stadium |
| 31 | Colorado Rapids | Toyota Stadium (Frisco) |
| 32 | Nashville SC | Camping World Stadium |
| 02 | New York Red Bull | Stade Saputo |
| 32 | DC United | Chase Stadium (FL) |
| 11 | Toronto FC | Lower.com Field |
| 11 | San Diego | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
| 10 | New England | Subaru Park |
| 20 | Charlotte FC | Yankee Stadium |
| 14 | Los Angeles FC | America First Field |
| 32 | Columbus Crew | Yankee Stadium |
| 31 | Seattle Sounders | Chase Stadium (FL) |
| 13 | Minnesota United | Snapdragon Stadium |
| 21 | New York Red Bull | Providence Park |
| 70 | Philadelphia Union | BC Place Stadium |
| 21 | Sporting KC | America First Field |