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| Founded on August 2, 2004, Club Deportivo Chivas USA is the sister team of Club Deportivo Guadalajara, popularly known as 'Chivas', Mexico's most beloved soccer club. Chivas USA, which celebrated its inaugural season as a Major League Soccer expansion team in 2005, brings a boldly different approach to the world of professional sports in the United States. |
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| The state of Colorado welcomed a brand new franchise to its sporting landscape on October 17, 1995 when the Colorado Rapids were named as one of the Major League Soccer's original 10 franchises. In the six months before their first game, the Rapids were able to completely build a franchise from scratch, bringing in a veteran coaching staff and a solid core group of players that included many well known international stars. |
| FC Dallas, a charter member club of Major League Soccer, will open its 12th season of play on April 7, 2007 away to Real Salt Lake. The club was formed on June 6, 1995 and played its first game on April 14, 1996, defeating the San Jose Clash in front of 27,779 fans at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Owned by the Hunt Sports Group, FC Dallas is the third winningest team in MLS history and the winner of the 1997 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Between 1996 and 2006, the team compiled a regular season record of 148-150-40 and qualified for the postseason on nine occasions, including each of the last two seasons. In 2006, the Hoops (fans and media have come to nickname the team the "Hoops", for the red and white horizontal stripes on the club's home uniform appear to 'hoop' around the jersey) recorded the highest point total in franchise history, going 16-12-4 for 52 points and earning the top seed in the Western Conference Playoffs for the first time ever. |
| Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada. It is sanctioned by the professional divisions of both the United States Soccer Federation (USSF or U.S. Soccer) and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which are both members of FIFA. MLS represents the top tier in the American Soccer Pyramid.
MLS was formed on December 17, 1993, in fulfillment of Alan Rothenberg and the US Soccer Federation's promise to FIFA to establish a "Division One" professional football (soccer) league in exchange for the staging of the FIFA World Cup USA 1994 in the United States. The league began play in 1996 with ten clubs and enjoyed promising attendance numbers in its first season. Numbers declined slightly after the first year, but have increased in subsequent years. The original 10 clubs were divided into two conferences: the Eastern Conference (Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, NY/NJ MetroStars, and Tampa Bay Mutiny), and Western Conference (Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn, Kansas City Wiz, Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash).
Established: AEG and Major League Soccer announced on December 16, 2005, that the AEG-operated San Jose Earthquakes MLS franchise will relocate to Houston, Texas, and represent the city of Houston when the 2006 MLS season gets underway on April 1, 2006. |
| Divide the inaugural Major League Soccer (MLS) season into thirds when talking about the Galaxy in 1996. Los Angeles won 12 games to begin the season, but a rough mid-season stretch where the Galaxy lost five-straight games kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the season. Finally, a late-season surge enabled Los Angeles to capture the 1996 Western Conference crown with a 19-13 mark (49 pts.)...
The Galaxy continued their hot streak in the playoffs defeating the San Jose Clash 2-1 in a three-game playoff series, prior to dispatching the Dallas Burn 2-0 on their way to the MLS title game. However, it was not meant to be as the Galaxy finished as runner-up to Washington D.C. United at MLS Cup 1996, in a 3-2 overtime loss at Foxboro Stadium. Despite a heartbreaking loss to D.C. United, the Galaxy returned home to a hero's welcome... |
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| Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada. It is sanctioned by the professional divisions of both the United States Soccer Federation (USSF or U.S. Soccer) and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which are both members of FIFA. MLS represents the top tier in the American Soccer Pyramid.
MLS was formed on December 17, 1993, in fulfillment of Alan Rothenberg and the US Soccer Federation's promise to FIFA to establish a "Division One" professional football (soccer) league in exchange for the staging of the FIFA World Cup USA 1994 in the United States. The league began play in 1996 with ten clubs and enjoyed promising attendance numbers in its first season. Numbers declined slightly after the first year, but have increased in subsequent years. The original 10 clubs were divided into two conferences: the Eastern Conference (Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, NY/NJ MetroStars, and Tampa Bay Mutiny), and Western Conference (Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn, Kansas City Wiz, Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash).
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It all began with a legend. On the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, October 8, 1997, an announcement was made. The new Major League Soccer team assigned to Chicago would be called the Chicago Fire. Its inaugural season would be in 1998.
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| On June 15, 1994, Columbus, Ohio was introduced as the first of the 10 inaugural Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs. With more than 11,500 season ticket deposits and plans to build a soccer-specific stadium, the decision to award a team to Ohio's capital city was an easy one.
Exactly four years and 11 months later on May 15, 1999, The Crew forever etched its place in American Sports History by christening Columbus Crew Stadium, the country's first major league stadium built specifically for soccer, with a 2-0 win over the New England Revolution. |
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Although soccer is still considered by many to be a "niche sport" in United States, more Americans are being converted to fans of the glorious game as each year passes. With the birth of Major League Soccer in 1996, the U.S. once again had a top-flight league, allowing soccer-hungry fans across the country to watch the world's most popular sport in their own backyard.
As a charter member of MLS, D.C. United first stepped onto the pitch in 1996, and the team from the Nation's Capital would quickly set the standard for excellence in the league on the field and in the stands. In its short, eight-year history, D.C. United has earned more domestic and international honors than any other American side, done battle against some of the world's most famous clubs and built a fiercely loyal and dedicated fan base that understands and appreciates world-class soccer. |
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| The Kansas City Wizards celebrate their twelfth season in Major League Soccer with the innovative vision of new ownership and the aggressive, attacking style of a new coaching staff. The team enters the 2007 season with the drive to spearhead new ideas and make the Wizards the premier organization in MLS.
Kansas City was introduced as one of the 10 charter members of MLS on June 6, 1995. Four months later, the League unveiled the nicknames, logos and uniform designs for the franchises, setting the stage for the unveiling of Kansas City's newest professional sports team - the Kansas City Wiz. |
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| Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada. It is sanctioned by the professional divisions of both the United States Soccer Federation (USSF or U.S. Soccer) and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which are both members of FIFA. MLS represents the top tier in the American Soccer Pyramid.
MLS was formed on December 17, 1993, in fulfillment of Alan Rothenberg and the US Soccer Federation's promise to FIFA to establish a "Division One" professional football (soccer) league in exchange for the staging of the FIFA World Cup USA 1994 in the United States. The league began play in 1996 with ten clubs and enjoyed promising attendance numbers in its first season. Numbers declined slightly after the first year, but have increased in subsequent years. The original 10 clubs were divided into two conferences: the Eastern Conference (Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, NY/NJ MetroStars, and Tampa Bay Mutiny), and Western Conference (Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn, Kansas City Wiz, Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash).
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| Toronto FC became a reality on October 2005, when Major League Soccer granted Toronto a franchise for a new team, in conjunction with the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) plans to build a new National soccer stadium in Toronto under a unique public/private partnership between MLSE, City of Toronto, Province of Ontario and the Federal Government.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and Major League Soccer (MLS) officials unveiled Toronto FC as the city's newest professional sports team on May 11, 2006. Toronto FC becomes the 13th Major League Soccer team and the first outside of the United States. |
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The concept of bringing a professional soccer team to Massachusetts was a natural idea when the framework of Major League Soccer was being developed in the mid-1990s. The area had a stadium that was not only equipped for the sport of soccer but also had a history of hosting sensational soccer events. There was a committed owner who had already made his mark on the region's sports landscape. And a passionate and loyal fan base was eager to welcome a team it could call its own.
Sure enough, on October 17, 1995, the New England Revolution was born. Behind the leadership of Owner/Investor Robert Kraft and the Kraft family, along with General Manager Brian O'Donovan, the Revolution secured Foxboro Stadium as its home venue and settled in as one of the 10 original organizations of Major League Soccer. |
