Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, and was founded in 1996 after the USA hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Major League Soccer was officially formed in 1995. The league began play in 1996 with 10 teams, and in 1998 grew to 12 teams. MLS experienced some difficulties in its first seasons, with the league losing money in the early years, resulting in two teams folding after the 2001 season.

Each team plays 162 games per season, and six teams in each league advance to a four-round postseason tournament that culminates in the World Series, a best-of-seven championship series between the two league champions first played in 1903.

34 Every team plays 17 games at home and 17 away, for a total of 34 regular season games. All teams play everyone in their respective Conference twice - at home and away - and an additional eight matches against teams in the other Conference.

the Los Angeles Galaxy To date, the record for the most championships is held by the Los Angeles Galaxy with five cup titles. The record for the most championships lost is held by the New England Revolution, who lost the game five times during their history.

18 teams How many teams make the playoffs? Overall, 18 teams qualify – the top 9 from the Eastern Conference and the top 9 from the Western Conference. Seeds 1-7 in each conference automatically qualify for the Round One Best-of-3 series. Seeds 8-9 in each conference qualify for the Wild Card matches.

Each playoff match is a knockout game. If the two teams are level at the end of regulation time, extra time is played. If the scoreline fails to separate the two teams, a penalty shootout will take place to determine the winner.

34 games Competition format. Major League Soccer's regular season runs from late February or early March to October. Teams are geographically divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences, playing 34 games in an unbalanced schedule.

Playoff system The top seven teams in each conference are given byes to the first round. The teams ranked 8th and 9th in each conference compete in the Wild-card round, with the winner advancing to face the 1 seed in Round One. The winners of the first round series advances to the Conference Semifinals.

18 teams How many teams make the playoffs? Overall, 18 teams qualify – the top 9 from the Eastern Conference and the top 9 from the Western Conference. Seeds 1-7 in each conference automatically qualify for the Round One Best-of-3 series. Seeds 8-9 in each conference qualify for the Wild Card matches.

According to a survey from Sports Betting, the National Football League is the most popular competition in the United States followed by the MLB, NBA, NHL and in fifth place is the MLS.

Inter Miami CF