Summer Football (Soccer) Leagues - Major League Soccer (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 153. Not illustrated. Chapters: Major League Soccer. Excerpt: Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league based in the United States and Canada and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer). The league comprises 16 teams, 15 in the U.S. and one in Canada, which is scheduled to become 18 teams by the beginning of the 2011 season and 20 by 2012. MLS represents the top tier of the American and Canadian soccer pyramids. Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 as part of the United States' bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The first season took place in 1996 beginning with 10 teams. Seasons run from late March or early April to November, with teams playing 30 regular season games each. Eight teams compete in the postseason MLS Cup Playoffs culminating in the championship game, MLS Cup. The 2010 Major League Soccer season runs from March 25 through November 21. The 16 teams in the league are evenly divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences. Each club competes against every other club twice, home and away, for a total of 30 games. The team with the most total points at the end of the regular season is awarded the Supporters' Shield. Eight teams then proceed to the MLS Cup Playoffs ending with the MLS Cup championship final. MLS has three automatic berths in the CONCACAF Champions League with extra berths possible via the U.S. Open Cup and the Canadian Championship. For the 201011 CONCACAF Champions League, qualifying club are MLS Cup 2009 champion Real Salt Lake, Supporters' Shield winner the Columbus Crew, MLS Cup runner-up the Los Angeles Galaxy, and 2009 U.S. Open Cup winner Seattle Sounders FC. MLS also has four berths in SuperLiga, a competition jointly organized by MLS and Mexico's national football governing body, the FMF. The top four overall teams from the 2009 season, excluding tho...