Understanding the MLS Cup: Format and Finalists

The MLS Cup final will feature LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls, who secured victories in the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively. Major League Soccer (MLS), the premier football league in the United States, culminates in the MLS Cup, its championship match. The 29th iteration of this event will see Western Conference champions LA Galaxy face Eastern Conference champions New York Red Bulls. The match is scheduled for 7 December 2024, at 21:00 GMT, hosted at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy’s home stadium in California. Viewers can stream the game on Amazon Prime Video. Unlike many top-tier football leagues globally, MLS employs a structure where a regular season precedes a post-season knockout tournament to crown the league champion. The regular season comprises 29 teams, three of which are Canadian, divided into Eastern and Western Conferences. Automatic qualification for the MLS play-offs, a knockout competition that decides the MLS Cup winner and thus the MLS champion, is granted to the top seven teams from each conference. Additionally, the eighth and ninth-placed teams in each conference compete in a wildcard match, with the victor also advancing to the play-offs. The initial round of the play-offs utilizes a best-of-three format, pitting qualified teams from the same conference against each other. This round is seeded, meaning the highest seed plays the lowest seed, and so forth. The team that secures two victories progresses to the conference semi-final. Subsequent matches, including the conference final and the MLS Cup final, are single-elimination rounds. Historically, LA Galaxy stands as the most successful team in the competition, with five titles from nine final appearances. In 2024, they secured the second position in the Western Conference, trailing California rivals Los Angeles FC, marking their strongest performance since 2014. Their path to the final involved defeating Colorado Rapids, Minnesota United, and Seattle Sounders. New York Red Bulls will be vying for their inaugural MLS Cup title, having previously lost their sole final appearance in 2008. Their regular season saw them finish seventh in the Eastern Conference, making them the lowest-seeded team to reach the final. To secure their place in the final, they overcame defending champions Columbus Crew, city rivals New York City FC, and Orlando City. The 2024 final represents the first championship encounter between clubs from the United States’ two largest metropolitan areas, Los Angeles and New York City. Their last competitive meeting occurred in the 2021 regular season, with Galaxy winning 3-2. Due to their superior regular season finish, Galaxy will have home advantage for the final. The MLS Cup champion earns one of the four berths allocated to the USA in the subsequent season’s Concacaf Champions Cup, which is the American counterpart to the Uefa Champions League. Nevertheless, the MLS Cup winner will not participate in the Club World Cup, even though the United States is hosting the tournament next year and a spot is designated for the host nation. Fifa allocated this position to Inter Miami, recognizing their victory in the 2024 Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the highest regular season points total. Inter Miami was eliminated in the first round of the play-offs by Eastern Conference wildcard team Atlanta United. Seattle Sounders is the only other MLS team participating in the Club World Cup, having qualified by winning the 2022 Concacaf Champions League.