MLS Cup facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
MLS Cup

Founded	1996
Region	Major League Soccer (CONCACAF)
Current champions	Columbus Crew (3rd title)
Most successful team(s)	LA Galaxy (5 titles)
Television broadcasters	United States: MLS Season Pass Fox/Fox Deportes Canada: TSN/RDS International: Broadcasters

The MLS Cup is the big championship game for Major League Soccer (MLS). It's the exciting end to the MLS Cup Playoffs each year. This game usually happens in November or December. It features the top team from the Eastern Conference playing against the top team from the Western Conference. The team that wins the MLS Cup becomes the league champion!

MLS decides its champion with a playoff tournament after the regular season. This is like how other big sports leagues in North America do it. Most football (soccer) leagues around the world crown the team with the most points at the end of the season as champion. MLS also honors that team with the Supporters' Shield.

If a team from the U.S. wins the MLS Cup, they get a spot in the next season's CONCACAF Champions League. This is a big tournament for teams in North and Central America. Canadian teams in MLS can only get into the Champions League by winning the Canadian Championship. If a Canadian team wins the MLS Cup, their Champions League spot goes to the best U.S. team that hasn't already qualified.

The very first MLS Cup was played on October 20, 1996. In that game, D.C. United beat the LA Galaxy. The LA Galaxy have won the most MLS Cups, with a record five titles. Their last win was in 2014.

The MLS Cup has had three different trophy designs over the years. The first was the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy, used from 1996 to 1998. It was redesigned and used again from 1999 to 2007. Since 2008, the winner has received the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy.

Who Has Won the MLS Cup?

The team that wins the MLS Cup becomes the champion of Major League Soccer for that season. The league organizes a playoff tournament after the regular season. This is similar to how other major sports leagues in North America work. The top nine teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences get to play in the tournament.

The first MLS Cup final was played on October 20, 1996. The Los Angeles Galaxy hold the record for the most championships, with five titles. The New England Revolution have lost the final five times, which is the most losses. Only three times has a team won the championship two or more years in a row.

MLS Cup Final Results

MLS Cup Records and Stats

How Many MLS Cup Titles Have Teams Won?

As of the 2022 season, 30 teams have played in MLS. Nineteen of these teams have reached the MLS Cup final. Fifteen of them have won the MLS Cup. The table below shows how many times each team has appeared in the final and how many times they've won.

MLS Cup Teams in CONCACAF Tournaments

Winning the MLS Cup often means a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. This is a big international club tournament. Only U.S. teams can get these spots from the MLS Cup. Canadian MLS teams must win the Canadian Championship to qualify.

Key

• QR1 = Qualification First Round
• PR = Preliminary round
• GS = Group stage
• R16 = Round of 16
• QF = Quarter-finals
• SF = Semi-finals or Consolation match
• CON = Consolation match
• F = Final

Notes

The MLS Cup Trophies

The Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy, first version (1996–1998) and second version (1999–2007)

After the championship game, the winning team gets a special trophy. It's called the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy. It's named after Philip Anschutz, who helped MLS and American soccer a lot. The trophy is usually given to the team captain on a stage in the middle of the field.

Before the trophy is given, the losing team gets silver medals. Then, the champions get gold medals. Finally, the trophy is handed to the winning team's captain.

There have been three different MLS Cup trophies. For the first three MLS Cup finals, the winner received the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy. This trophy was named after Alan I. Rothenberg, who also helped American soccer. It was a dark gold trophy with two handles and a soccer ball design. In 1999, the Rothenberg Trophy was updated with a new look. Then, in 2008, the trophy was redesigned again. This new design is what we see today, and it was renamed the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy.

Where the MLS Cup Finals Are Played

Dignity Health Sports Park has hosted six MLS Cup finals.

The MLS Cup final has been played in the Greater Los Angeles area eight times. This includes games at the Rose Bowl, Dignity Health Sports Park (which used to be called StubHub Center and Home Depot Center), and BMO Stadium. Four other cities have hosted the final three times each: Boston (at Foxboro Stadium and Gillette Stadium), Washington, D.C. (at RFK Stadium), Toronto (at BMO Field), and Columbus (at Historic Crew Stadium).

Before the 2011 season, the MLS Cup final location was chosen ahead of time. This meant the teams didn't know where the final would be until they made it there. But starting in 2012, MLS changed the rule. Now, the team with the best record during the regular season gets to host the final. If two teams have the same number of points, the team with more wins hosts the game. For example, in MLS Cup 2022, Los Angeles FC and the Philadelphia Union both had 67 points. But LAFC had two more wins, so they hosted the final.

Before 2012, only three teams played the final in their home stadium. In 1997, D.C. United won at their home, RFK Stadium. In 2002, the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the New England Revolution at the Revolution's home, Gillette Stadium. These games had the biggest crowds before the rule change in 2012. In 2011, the LA Galaxy won at their home stadium, Home Depot Center. They were the second team to win the Cup at home.

After MLS changed the hosting rule, the first three finals were won by the home team. The 2012 MLS Cup was a rematch of 2011, played at the same stadium. The Galaxy won again. In 2013, Sporting Kansas City won at their home, Sporting Park. They beat Real Salt Lake in a penalty shootout, which was the longest in MLS Cup history. In 2014, the Galaxy won again at their home stadium. This game was also special because it was the last competitive match for U.S. soccer star Landon Donovan. However, in 2015, the home team didn't win. The Portland Timbers defeated the Columbus Crew in Columbus.

The coldest MLS Cup final ever was in 2013 in Kansas City, Kansas. The temperature was 20°F (-6.7°C). The hottest final was in 2005 in Frisco, Texas, where it was 75°F (23°C).

The 2010 MLS Cup was the first final played outside the United States. It was held in Canada at Toronto's BMO Field, which is the home of Toronto FC.

MLS Cup Stadiums

Pizza Hut Park, now Toyota Stadium, hosted the 2005 and 2006 MLS Cups.

Italics mean the stadium is no longer used.

MLS Cup Most Valuable Player

After each championship, a player from the winning team is named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). This award usually goes to the player who scores the winning goal or helps set up many goals. For example, the MVPs in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2019, and 2020 all scored game-winning goals or had many assists.

Sometimes, the MVP award goes to a goalkeeper. This happened in 2000, 2009, 2016, and 2021. Goalkeepers Tony Meola and Stefan Frei won because they didn't let any goals in. Nick Rimando and Sean Johnson won after making important saves in penalty shootouts.

List of MVP Award Winners

Year	Winner	Position	Club
1996	Marco Etcheverry	Midfielder	D.C. United
1997	Jaime Moreno	Forward	D.C. United
1998	Peter Nowak	Midfielder	Chicago Fire
1999	Ben Olsen	Midfielder	D.C. United
2000	Tony Meola	Goalkeeper	Kansas City Wizards
2001	Dwayne De Rosario	Forward	San Jose Earthquakes
2002	Carlos Ruiz	Forward	Los Angeles Galaxy
2003	Landon Donovan	Forward	San Jose Earthquakes
2004	Alecko Eskandarian	Forward	D.C. United
2005	Guillermo Ramírez	Midfielder	Los Angeles Galaxy
2006	Brian Ching	Forward	Houston Dynamo
2007	Dwayne De Rosario	Midfielder	Houston Dynamo
2008	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	Midfielder	Columbus Crew
2009	Nick Rimando	Goalkeeper	Real Salt Lake
2010	Conor Casey	Forward	Colorado Rapids
2011	Landon Donovan	Forward	Los Angeles Galaxy
2012	Omar Gonzalez	Defender	Los Angeles Galaxy
2013	Aurélien Collin	Defender	Sporting Kansas City
2014	Robbie Keane	Forward	Los Angeles Galaxy
2015	Diego Valeri	Midfielder	Portland Timbers
2016	Stefan Frei	Goalkeeper	Seattle Sounders FC
2017	Jozy Altidore	Forward	Toronto FC
2018	Josef Martínez	Forward	Atlanta United FC
2019	Víctor Rodríguez	Midfielder	Seattle Sounders FC
2020	Lucas Zelarayán	Midfielder	Columbus Crew
2021	Sean Johnson	Goalkeeper	New York City FC
2022	John McCarthy	Goalkeeper	Los Angeles FC
2023	Cucho Hernández	Forward	Columbus Crew

Players with Many MLS Cup Titles

At least 40 players have won the MLS Cup two or more times. Many of these players were on teams that won titles close together. For example, D.C. United (1996–1999), San Jose (2001 and 2003), LA Galaxy (2002 and 2005, and 2011–2012), and Houston (2006–2007). Brian Mullan is the only player to win the Cup with four different teams. Players like Craig Waibel, Alejandro Moreno, Ezra Hendrickson, and Darlington Nagbe have won it with three different teams.

See Also

In Spanish: MLS Cup para niños

• MLS Cup Playoffs
• MLS rivalry cups
• Campeones Cup
• CONCACAF Champions League
• List of MLS Cup broadcasters
• List of MLS Cup finals
• List of MLS club post-season droughts
• List of MLS Cup referees
• List of MLS Cup winning head coaches