Supporters' Shield facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Supporters' Shield |
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| Given for | Major League Soccer team with the best record in the regular season |
| Presented by | The Supporters' Shield Foundation |
| History | |
| First award | 1999, 1996 (retroactively) |
| Most wins | D.C. United and LA Galaxy (4 shields each) |
| Most recent | FC Cincinnati (1st shield) |
The Supporters' Shield is a special award given every year to the Major League Soccer (MLS) team that has the very best record during the regular season. This is decided by how many points they earn in their games.
The Supporters' Shield has been given out since 1999. Teams that won between 1996 and 1998 also got the award later on. It's now seen as a big trophy in the league, much like how top teams in European soccer leagues are crowned champions for having the best record. Since 2006, the team that wins the Supporters' Shield also gets a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League, which is a big international tournament, if they are an American team.
Two teams, D.C. United and LA Galaxy, have won the Supporters' Shield more than any other team, with four wins each. The current champions are FC Cincinnati, who won their first Supporters' Shield in 2023.
Contents
How the Supporters' Shield Started
The Idea for a New Award
When Major League Soccer (MLS) began in 1996, it was a lot like other sports leagues in North America. After the regular season, teams would play in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The team with the best record in the regular season didn't get a special trophy, just the top spot in the playoffs.
In 1997, a soccer fan named Nick Lawrus suggested creating a "Supporters' Scudetto" (a "scudetto" is a small shield in Italian soccer). He thought of this because the Tampa Bay Mutiny had the best record in 1996 but didn't win the final championship, the 1996 MLS Cup. A group of fans from different MLS teams liked the idea and changed the name to "Supporters' Shield." However, they couldn't agree on all the details, so the idea didn't happen right away.
Getting the First Trophy
The next year, another fan named Sam Pierron tried to bring the idea back. MLS didn't want to pay for the trophy, so Sam started raising money. Fans from many MLS clubs helped, and even an ESPN commentator, Phil Schoen, and the MLS commissioner, Doug Logan, donated money.
They raised almost $3,000! They used $2,200 to create the first trophy. It was a silver "chevron" (a V-shaped design) made by an artist named Paula Richardson.
The first Supporters' Shield trophy was finished near the end of the 1999 season. Even though D.C. United was the first team to win it in 1999, the teams that finished first in 1996, 1997, and 1998 were also given the award later. Their names were added to the shield when it was made.
For many years, the Supporters' Shield wasn't very well known. MLS mostly focused on the MLS Cup winner and runner-up, giving them spots in international tournaments.
Why the Shield Became More Important
In 2006, something changed. The United States Soccer Federation decided that both the Supporters' Shield winner and the MLS Cup winner would represent the U.S. in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. This made the Shield much more important! If a team won both the Shield and the MLS Cup, the team with the second-best regular season record would also get a spot.
Later, when the Champions Cup became the CONCACAF Champions League, both the Supporters' Shield winner and the MLS Cup winner got direct spots into the group stage of this big tournament.
Seven times, the team that won the Supporters' Shield also went on to win the MLS Cup in the same year. In 2011, MLS announced that the Shield winner would play against the lowest-ranked team in the MLS Cup playoffs, giving them an advantage.
A New Look for the Shield
As the Supporters' Shield became more valued, fans wanted a new, bigger trophy. The idea for a new design started at a fan meeting in 2010. It gained more support over the next two years.
In 2012, the Supporters' Shield Foundation was created. Their goal was to raise money for a new trophy and manage the award in the future. The new Shield was going to cost $18,000! Most of the money was raised by selling 2,000 special "I Support the Shield" scarves to fans.
The new Supporters' Shield was finished in early 2013. It weighs about 35 pounds (16 kg) and is made of silver and stainless steel. The outside looks like a classic soccer ball, and the middle has a design that honors the original chevron trophy. The middle part can even be expanded to add more winners' names each year. The New York Red Bulls were the first team to win this new Shield in 2013.
The 2020 Season: A Big Decision
On October 17, 2020, MLS announced that the Supporters' Shield would not be given out for the 2020 season. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected how games were played and whether fans could attend. The Supporters' Shield Foundation said that without fans in the stadiums, it didn't feel right to give out the Shield.
This decision made many people in the MLS community upset. Coaches and players, like Toronto FC's coach Greg Vanney (whose team was leading at the time), criticized the choice. Because of all the negative feedback, the Supporters' Shield Foundation changed its mind on October 23. The Shield was brought back for the 2020 season!
The Philadelphia Union won the Supporters' Shield that year. However, the actual trophy was delayed in shipping. So, the Union's workshop made a temporary trophy from a Captain America shield with a vinyl cover, which the players proudly lifted.
Who Has Won the Supporters' Shield?
Sixteen different teams have won the Supporters' Shield at least once. The LA Galaxy and D.C. United have won it the most, with four Shields each. Seven teams have won both the Supporters' Shield and the MLS Cup in the same year. The Galaxy and D.C. United have done this "double" twice.
While three American teams have won the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup (another domestic trophy), no American team has won all three major domestic trophies: the Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup, and U.S. Open Cup. However, in 2017, Toronto FC achieved a similar feat in Canada, winning the Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup, and Canadian Championship.
| Season | Teams | Winner | Record | Points (Pts/Gm) |
Playoffs result | Coach | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Tied | ||||||
| 1996 | 10 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 32 | 20 | 12 | — | 58 (1.81) | Lost Conf Finals (DC) | Thomas Rongen |
| 1997 | 10 | D.C. United | 32 | 21 | 11 | — | 55 (1.72) | Won MLS Cup | Bruce Arena |
| 1998 | 12 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 32 | 24 | 8 | — | 68 (2.12) | Lost Conf Finals (CHI) | Octavio Zambrano |
| 1999 | 12 | D.C. United (2) | 32 | 23 | 9 | — | 57 (1.78) | Won MLS Cup | Thomas Rongen |
| 2000 | 12 | Kansas City Wizards | 32 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 57 (1.78) | Won MLS Cup | Bob Gansler |
| 2001 | 12 | Miami Fusion | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 53 (2.04) | Lost Semifinals (SJO) | Ray Hudson |
| 2002 | 10 | Los Angeles Galaxy (2) | 28 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 51 (1.82) | Won MLS Cup | Sigi Schmid |
| 2003 | 10 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 53 (1.77) | Lost MLS Cup (SJO) | Dave Sarachan |
| 2004 | 10 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 49 (1.63) | Lost Conf Semifinals (NE) | Greg Andrulis |
| 2005 | 12 | San Jose Earthquakes | 32 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 64 (2.00) | Lost Conf Semifinals (LA) | Dominic Kinnear |
| 2006 | 12 | D.C. United (3) | 32 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 55 (1.72) | Lost Conf Finals (NE) | Piotr Nowak |
| 2007 | 13 | D.C. United (4) | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 55 (1.83) | Lost Conf Semifinals (CHI) | Tom Soehn |
| 2008 | 14 | Columbus Crew (2) | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 57 (1.90) | Won MLS Cup | Sigi Schmid |
| 2009 | 15 | Columbus Crew (3) | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 49 (1.63) | Lost Conf Semifinals (RSL) | Robert Warzycha |
| 2010 | 16 | Los Angeles Galaxy (3) | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 59 (1.97) | Lost Conf Finals (DAL) | Bruce Arena |
| 2011 | 18 | Los Angeles Galaxy (4) | 34 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 67 (1.97) | Won MLS Cup | Bruce Arena |
| 2012 | 19 | San Jose Earthquakes (2) | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 66 (1.94) | Lost Conf Semifinals (LA) | Frank Yallop |
| 2013 | 19 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 59 (1.74) | Lost Conf Semifinals (HOU) | Mike Petke |
| 2014 | 19 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 64 (1.88) | Lost Conf Finals (LA) | Sigi Schmid |
| 2015 | 20 | New York Red Bulls (2) | 34 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 60 (1.76) | Lost Conf Finals (CLB) | Jesse Marsch |
| 2016 | 20 | FC Dallas | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 60 (1.76) | Lost Conf Semifinals (SEA) | Óscar Pareja |
| 2017 | 22 | Toronto FC | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 69 (2.02) | Won MLS Cup | Greg Vanney |
| 2018 | 23 | New York Red Bulls (3) | 34 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 71 (2.09) | Lost Conf Finals (ATL) | Chris Armas |
| 2019 | 24 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 72 (2.12) | Lost Conf Finals (SEA) | Bob Bradley |
| 2020 | 26 | Philadelphia Union | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 47 (2.04) | Lost first round (NE) | Jim Curtin |
| 2021 | 27 | New England Revolution | 34 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 73 (2.15) | Lost Conf Semifinals (NYC) | Bruce Arena |
| 2022 | 28 | Los Angeles FC (2) | 34 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 67 (1.97) | Won MLS Cup | Steve Cherundolo |
| 2023 | 29 | FC Cincinnati | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 69 (2.03) | Lost Conf Finals (CLB) | Pat Noonan |
Team also won the MLS Cup. Team also won the U.S. Open Cup / Canadian Championship. Team also won the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup / Canadian Championship.
Records and Achievements
Teams with the Most Shields
Here's a list of teams that have won the Supporters' Shield, showing who has won it the most times:
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Year(s) won | Year(s) runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA Galaxy | 4 | 4 | 1998, 2002, 2010, 2011 | 1996, 1999, 2009, 2014 |
| D.C. United | 4 | 1 | 1997, 1999, 2006, 2007 | 1998 |
| Columbus Crew | 3 | 0 | 2004, 2008, 2009 | |
| New York Red Bulls | 3 | 0 | 2013, 2015, 2018 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 2 | 2005, 2012 | 2002, 2003 |
| Los Angeles FC | 2 | 0 | 2019, 2022 | |
| Sporting Kansas City | 1 | 4 | 2000 | 1997, 2004, 2012, 2013 |
| Chicago Fire | 1 | 2 | 2003 | 2000, 2001 |
| FC Dallas | 1 | 2 | 2016 | 2006, 2015 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | 1 | 2014 | 2011 |
| Toronto FC | 1 | 1 | 2017 | 2020 |
| Philadelphia Union | 1 | 1 | 2020 | 2022 |
| New England Revolution | 1 | 1 | 2021 | 2005 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | 1 | 0 | 1996 | |
| Miami Fusion | 1 | 0 | 2001 | |
| FC Cincinnati | 1 | 0 | 2023 | |
| Colorado Rapids | 0 | 2 | 2016, 2021 | |
| New York City FC | 0 | 2 | 2017, 2019 | |
| Chivas USA | 0 | 1 | 2007 | |
| Houston Dynamo | 0 | 1 | 2008 | |
| Real Salt Lake | 0 | 1 | 2010 | |
| Atlanta United FC | 0 | 1 | 2018 | |
| Orlando City SC | 0 | 1 | 2023 |
- Teams that no longer exist are shown in italics.
Shield Winners in CONCACAF Tournaments
Before 2006, winning the Supporters' Shield didn't automatically mean a team would play in international CONCACAF tournaments. Usually, the teams that played in these tournaments were the MLS Cup champion and runner-up.
Since 2007, the Supporters' Shield winner has taken the place of the MLS Cup runner-up as one of the American teams to play in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. When this tournament changed to the CONCACAF Champions League in 2008, both the Shield winner and the MLS Cup winner got direct spots into the group stage.
Toronto FC and Los Angeles FC are the only Shield winners to reach the final of a CONCACAF tournament. However, Toronto FC is a Canadian team, so they qualified for the tournament by winning the Canadian Championship, not the Supporters' Shield.
D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls have had the earliest exits from a CONCACAF tournament as Shield winners. They were eliminated in the group stage in the 2008–09 and 2014–15 Champions League seasons.
Key to Results:
| Champions | Runners-up | Semi-finals |
- QR1 = Qualification first round
- PR = Preliminary round
- GS = Group stage
- R16 = Round of 16
- QF = Quarter-finals
- SF = Semi-finals or consolation match
- F = Final
How Shield Winners Performed:
| Season | Shield winner | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Did not qualify | ||
| 1998 | |||
| 1999 | Los Angeles Galaxy | QR1 | |
| 2000 | D.C. United | SF | |
| 2002 | Kansas City Wizards | SF | |
| 2003 | Los Angeles Galaxy | QF | |
| 2004 | Chicago Fire | SF | |
| 2005 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2006 | |||
| 2007 | D.C. United | SF | |
| 2008 | D.C. United | SF | |
| 2008–09 | D.C. United | GS | |
| 2009–10 | Columbus Crew | QF | |
| 2010–11 | Columbus Crew | QF | |
| 2011–12 | Los Angeles Galaxy | QF | |
| 2012–13 | Los Angeles Galaxy | SF | |
| 2013–14 | San Jose Earthquakes | QF | |
| 2014–15 | New York Red Bulls | GS | |
| 2015–16 | Seattle Sounders FC | QF | |
| 2016–17 | New York Red Bulls | QF | |
| 2018 | Toronto FC | F | |
| 2019 | New York Red Bulls | QF | |
| 2020 | Los Angeles FC | F | |
| 2021 | Philadelphia Union | SF | |
| 2022 | New England Revolution | QF | |
| 2023 | Los Angeles FC | F | |
| 2024 | FC Cincinnati | R16 | |
See Also
In Spanish: Supporters' Shield para niños
- List of American and Canadian soccer champions
- CPL Shield, a similar trophy in the Canadian Premier League
- Presidents' Trophy, an NHL trophy that works in a similar way
- Maurice Podoloff Trophy, an NBA trophy that works in a similar way
- NWSL Shield, a similar trophy in the National Women's Soccer League
- Minor premiership, a similar idea in Australian sports leagues
- Major League Soccer's Wooden Spoon award (the opposite of the Shield, for the last-place team)
