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Timeline covering key milestones of first 30 years of MLS: From Beckham to Messi
Jim Reineking, USA TODAYOctober 18, 2025 at 5:13 AM
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Major League Soccer celebrated a significant milestone season in 2025, which marked the league's 30th.
Since 1996, MLS has had 15 different teams have won the league championship and counted dozens of international soccer icons among its playing ranks. MLS's history is sandwiched between two World Cups held in the U.S. The 1994 event that was the impetus for Major League Soccer's formation, and the upcoming 2026 World Cup that will show just how far the sport has come in the U.S. over the past three-plus decades.
Here we take a look at the key milestones in the league's first 30 years:
1994 World Cup spawns new league
"Soccer's final frontier" finally hosted sports' biggest event when the World Cup came to the United States in 1994. As a condition to host the World Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation promised to create a Division 1 men's professional soccer league. This hadn't existed in the U.S. since the demise of the old NASL in the early 1980s. On Dec. 17, 1993, MLS was founded, but it took more than two years to get the league's teams on the field and playing games. The 1994 World Cup was a success, setting attendance records as the U.S. men's national team made a spirited run into the knockout round, losing to eventual champion Brazil in the Round of 16.
Original kit launch sets wild fashion tone
If you need a good laugh, take a look at the uniform designs for the league's inaugural season. Of course, there was a fashion show, held at the Palladium in New York City on Oct. 15 1995. In the beginning, MLS eschewed traditional soccer club team names — D.C. United was the exception — and nicknames and logos ranged from patriotic (New England Revolution) to out-of-this-world (Los Angeles Galaxy) to bizarre mutant bats (Tampa Bay Mutiny). It's a real time capsule look into where sports uniform fashion was in the mid-1990s. In a word, it was wacky and not exclusive to the newly formed MLS. The San Jose Clash (now the Earthquakes) had a scorpion logo and uniforms that featured celery green as one of the primary colors. The Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) had a fire-breathing horse as a logo.
Opening games bring promise
On April 6, 1996, the San Jose Clash hosted D.C. United in Major League Soccer's inaugural game. U.S. national team star Eric Wynalda rescued the game from being a 0-0 dud with a late goal to give the Clash the victory. A week later, approximately 70,000 fans were at the Rose Bowl to watch the L.A. Galaxy defeat the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. Things were off to a promising start for MLS. At the end of its first season, average attendance was 17,406 per game.
Inaugural MLS Cup is a thriller
The league's inaugural season concluded with an epic MLS Cup clash between D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy at a rain-soaked Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts. MLS's first championship game still rates as one of its finest. The challenging weather situation was a dramatic backdrop for a game that was won in overtime by D.C., which would go on to be the league's first championship dynasty, winning three of the first four MLS Cups.
Expansion Chicago Fire win MLS Cup
Under future USMNT coach Bob Bradley, the Chicago Fire enjoyed one of the best debut seasons in pro sports in 1998. The Fire are not just the only MLS expansion team to win the league championship, but the first in any men's major U.S. professional sports league (though the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights came close in their inaugural season, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final). In addition to MLS Cup, the Fire also won the first of four U.S. Open Cups over a nine-season span. The Fire were the first of five MLS clubs (also MetroStars, Chivas USA, Los Angeles FC and Toronto FC) coached by Bradley, who also had a successful tenure as USMNT coach.
Columbus Crew open soccer-specific stadium
Long before building a stadium became a near-prerequisite to attain an MLS expansion team, the Crew hosted their first game in the league's first stadium built specifically for the sport of soccer on May 15, 1999. What is now known as Historic Crew Stadium was the home for the Crew for the next 22 years. It hosted three MLS Cups and was a go-to venue for the USMNT, particularly for World Cup qualifiers against rival Mexico.
Don Garber named commissioner
After 16 years working for the NFL, Garber succeeded Doug Logan — MLS's first commissioner — on Aug. 4, 1999. Garber immediately aligned MLS with the more familiar international game, eliminating gimmicks such as the 35-yard shootout. MLS now allowed ties to stand, and time was kept by the referees with the clock counting up to 90 minutes rather than counting down like it does in other U.S. team sports. Authenticating American pro soccer was just one small step. More importantly, Garber emphasized building soccer-specific stadiums. The Crew already had one, but over time many other teams would follow, starting with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2003. For the 2025 season, 22 of the league's 30 stadiums are soccer-specific stadiums.
Contraction, then expansion
Garber joined the league at a delicate time, as MLS stakeholders were attempting to assure Major League Soccer's survival. The league was losing money and part of the plan moving forward was contraction. On Jan. 8, 2002, the league folded the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny, as MLS shrunk back to a 10-team lineup. Was it addition by subtraction? The outlook for the league was dim, with the events of 9/11 having a negative impact on the U.S. economy (Major League Baseball nearly contracted as well, putting the futures of the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos in doubt). In the summer of 2002, MLS got a much-needed boost when the U.S. men's national team made a scintillating run to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The 2002 World Cup team was loaded with MLS players, both up-and-coming (Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley) and well-established (Cobi Jones and Brian McBride). Cities were interested in teams, and in 2005 MLS expanded back to 12 teams with the additions of Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA (now defunct). Over the course of 20 years, the league went from 10 teams to 30, with San Diego FC the most recent club joining MLS at a $500 million expansion fee.
David Beckham and the creation of the 'designated player' rule
Beckham's arrival in L.A. in 2007 gave MLS a violent shove into relevance. It is arguably THE seminal moment in league history. The reasons are multi-faceted. For starters, MLS operates with a salary cap, which hinders clubs' abilities to accumulate world-class players. Nowadays, each team is allowed three designated players who don't count against the salary cap, plus there other talent-acquiring mechanisms that are convoluted and confusing (TAM, GAM, U22 spots, etc.). Long story short, teams now have many ways to bring in quality players and the league is better for it. These roster-building systems can be traced back to the league (and Galaxy) luring Beckham, the England national team captain (and then-Real Madrid) star, in 2007. On the field, Becks' arrival in L.A. didn't immediately translate to on-field success. He was a hit at the box office, however, most notably drawing 66,237 fans at Giants Stadium for a game against New York Red Bulls. With Beckham teaming up with USMNT icon Landon Donovan and Ireland's star striker Robbie Keane, the Galaxy eventually became a league powerhouse, winning back-to-back MLS Cups in Beckham's final two seasons.
BEST PLAYERS IN MLS HISTORY: From BWP to Beckham, Messi to Moreno. See who made the cut
Teams embrace 'designated player' rule
The "rising tide lifts all boats" phenomenon couldn't take full effect if it was just Becks joining the Galaxy. Other teams had to embrace the "designated player" rule with enthusiasm and take on other global soccer icons. Over time, World Cup winners-turned-designated players such as Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Kaká (Orlando City), Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC), David Villa (New York City FC), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Chicago Fire) and Olivier Giroud (Los Angeles FC), as well as Ballon d'Or winners (Kaká and Lionel Messi at Inter Miami), all played (or are currently playing) in MLS.
Seattle Sounders make stunning debut
Seems silly now, but when the Sounders joined the league in 2009, the visuals coming from Seattle were mind-blowing. A league that had played games in high school football stadiums and minor-league baseball parks suddenly had a team that regularly drew 30,000-40,000 fans in an NFL stadium. The team was averaging more fans a game than some very famous globally recognized clubs. The Sounders put on display the immense potential for top-tier club soccer in the U.S.
the 2019 MLS MVP - during the game against Real Salt Lake at BMO Stadium. LAFC won the game, 4-1.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>Sept. 21, 2025: The 3252 supporter's group unveils a tifo honoring Los Angeles FC legend Carlos Vela - the 2019 MLS MVP - during the game against Real Salt Lake at BMO Stadium. LAFC won the game, 4-1.
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Sept. 21, 2025: The 3252 supporter's group unveils a tifo honoring Los Angeles FC legend Carlos Vela - the 2019 MLS MVP - during the game against Real Salt Lake at BMO Stadium. LAFC won the game, 4-1.
">Sept. 21, 2025: The 3252 supporter's group unveils a tifo honoring Los Angeles FC legend Carlos Vela - the 2019 MLS MVP - during the game against Real Salt Lake at BMO Stadium. LAFC won the game, 4-1.
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1 / 180Major League Soccer tifos through the years
Sept. 21, 2025: The 3252 supporter's group unveils a tifo honoring Los Angeles FC legend Carlos Vela - the 2019 MLS MVP - during the game against Real Salt Lake at BMO Stadium. LAFC won the game, 4-1.
No more neutral site for MLS Cup
The Colorado Rapids defeated FC Dallas at frigid BMO Field in Toronto to win the 2010 MLS Cup. This marked the final time that MLS Cup was played at a neutral site, similar to what the NFL does with the Super Bowl. The next season, the Galaxy hosted (though not via home-field advantage) MLS Cup in Carson, California. In 2012, the league made it official, hosting MLS Cup in the home stadium of the finalist with the highest regular-season point total. That set up a storybook Galaxy finale for David Beckham, as his team won MLS Cup 2012 in front of the home fans. That also afforded the Seattle Sounders the luxury to set a stadium record when 69,274 fans showed up to Lumen Field for MLS Cup 2019 (keep in mind, that same stadium previously had hosted three NFC championship games). It also meant that Gareth Bale's exhilarating extra-time header in MLS Cup 2022 occurred in front of LAFC's raucous fans.
Finally, Concacaf Champions League glory
Sure, D.C. United (1998) and the Los Angeles Galaxy (2000) had won the Concacaf Champions Cup, but that was a much different competition than the modern incarnation of the continental club tournament. The modern incarnation was (and continues to be) a real bugaboo for MLS teams. Only once in the 17-year history of the modern Concacaf Champions League/Cup has an MLS team prevailed. That happened in 2022, when the Seattle Sounders defeated Pumas in the two-legged final by an aggregate score of 5-2. Eight MLS teams have advanced to the Concacaf Champions Cup final, with just one winner — the Seattle Sounders.
MLS and Apple join forces
A 10-year media rights deal debuted for the 2023 season, when MLS and Apple launched a first-of-its-kind streaming package that allowed fans around the world to watch every game (regular season and postseason) via the Apple TV app.
MLS NEXT 30: How the league got here and where it's going
The soccer G.O.A.T. takes his talents to South Beach
16 years after the earthshattering move to bring Beckham to America, Beckham had a hand in bringing Lionel Messi — a record eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as the game's top player — to an Inter Miami club that had struggled to find its way in its first four years of existence. Part of Beckham's original deal to come to the Galaxy included a contract option to purchase an MLS expansion team on the cheap once his playing career was complete. Beckham exercised that option to get a team back in Miami, which had been without an MLS team since the Fusion were contracted following the 2001 season. After achieving minimal success in its first three seasons, Inter Miami finally made its big splash in the summer of 2023, bringing in Messi (as well as his former FC Barcelona chums Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets). Inter Miami immediately started collecting trophies. Galvanized by the arrival of Messi, Inter Miami won the Leagues Cup in 2023 and then the MLS Supporters' Shield in 2024.
July 5, 2025: Lionel Messi celebrates with his Inter Miami teammate after scoring a goal against CF Montreal during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Messi had two goals in Inter Miami's 4-1 win.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/0PdSJf8 class=caas-img data-headline="Lionel Messi in MLS: Photos from soccer star's tenure with Inter Miami" data-caption="
July 5, 2025: Lionel Messi celebrates with his Inter Miami teammate after scoring a goal against CF Montreal during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Messi had two goals in Inter Miami's 4-1 win.
">July 5, 2025: Lionel Messi celebrates with his Inter Miami teammate after scoring a goal against CF Montreal during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Messi had two goals in Inter Miami's 4-1 win.
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May 31, 2025: Lionel Messi scores a goal against the Columbus Crew at Chase Stadium. Messi scored two goals in Inter Miami's 5-1 win.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/k1Z2dIQ class=caas-img data-headline="Lionel Messi in MLS: Photos from soccer star's tenure with Inter Miami" data-caption="
May 31, 2025: Lionel Messi scores a goal against the Columbus Crew at Chase Stadium. Messi scored two goals in Inter Miami's 5-1 win.
">May 31, 2025: Lionel Messi scores a goal against the Columbus Crew at Chase Stadium. Messi scored two goals in Inter Miami's 5-1 win.
" src=https://ift.tt/k1Z2dIQ class=caas-img>May 3, 2025: Lionel Messi celebrates with Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez (9) after scoring a goal against the New York Red Bulls at Chase Stadium. Inter Miami won the game, 4-1.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/RkG2HJc class=caas-img data-headline="Lionel Messi in MLS: Photos from soccer star's tenure with Inter Miami" data-caption="
May 3, 2025: Lionel Messi celebrates with Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez (9) after scoring a goal against the New York Red Bulls at Chase Stadium. Inter Miami won the game, 4-1.
">May 3, 2025: Lionel Messi celebrates with Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez (9) after scoring a goal against the New York Red Bulls at Chase Stadium. Inter Miami won the game, 4-1.
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1 / 36Lionel Messi in MLS: Photos from soccer star's tenure with Inter MiamiSept. 24, 2025: Lionel Messi celebrates his goal against New York City FC at Citi Field. Messi scored two goals in Inter Miami's 4-0 win.
USA TODAY Sports' 48-page special edition commemorates 30 years of Major League Soccer, from its best players to key milestones and championship dynasties to what exciting steps are next with the World Cup ahead. Order your copy today!
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLS at 30: Key milestones in league history
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