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MLS performance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup
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MLS performance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup
Major League Soccer teams have participated in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (formerly the CONCACAF Champions League from 2008 to 2023) each season since 1997. As of 2023[update], a maximum of ten MLS teams can qualify to the CONCACAF Champions Cup each season — one from the US Open Cup, one from the Canadian Championship, three through the Leagues Cup berths, and five through Major League Soccer.
Under the Champions Cup's updated format starting in 2008–09, the first MLS team to finish first in its group was Real Salt Lake in 2010.
The first Champions League title won by an MLS side occurred in 2022, when Seattle Sounders FC defeated Mexico's UNAM 5–2 on aggregate in the final. Seattle was therefore the first MLS side to participate at the FIFA Club World Cup. Real Salt Lake, CF Montréal, Toronto FC, Los Angeles FC, Columbus Crew and Vancouver Whitecaps FC all also reached the final, with Real Salt Lake losing to Monterrey in 2011, CF Montréal to América in 2015, Toronto FC to Guadalajara in 2018, Los Angeles FC to UANL in 2020, León in 2023, Columbus Crew to Pachuca in 2024 and Vancouver Whitecaps FC to Cruz Azul in 2025, respectively.
The following table shows the number of MLS participants in the Champions Cup each season, as well as the number of MLS teams that have reached various stages in the knockout rounds. MLS teams performed poorly during the first two years, as fixture congestion from the Superliga tournament as well as CONCACAF Champions League preliminary rounds meant that MLS teams often fielded teams without their first choice players.
Beginning in 2018, the Champions League format was changed to eliminate group play and the knockout round started with sixteen teams rather than eight. Beginning in 2024, the format was expanded to include five knockout rounds and twenty-seven teams.
Notes:
The following table shows the performance of MLS teams in the knockout rounds for each home-and-away series for opponents from various leagues. During the first nine seasons of the Champions League, MLS teams did not play any foreign teams in knockout stage other than Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama. With the change in tournament format in the 2018 season, specifically with the knockout rounds now including a round of 16, MLS teams have played knockout matches against a greater variety of countries.
In the Champions Cup knockout rounds, MLS teams have played Mexican teams more than any other country, in some years facing multiple matchups. Seattle's 2013 quarter-final win over Mexico's UANL was the first time since the Champions League format began in 2008–09 that an MLS team eliminated a Mexican team in the knockout rounds. Montreal repeated the feat in 2015 when they beat Mexico's Pachuca in the quarter-finals. In 2018, Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls both advanced to the semi-finals by beating Mexican teams, the first time that two MLS teams eliminated two Mexican teams in the same tournament. In 2020, Los Angeles FC became the first MLS team to eliminate three Mexican teams in the same tournament — beating Mexican opponents in the Round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, before losing in the final to a Mexican team. MLS' improved performance against Mexican teams was attributed to MLS club academies focused on player development, and an increase in player salaries through the league's Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) program.
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MLS performance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup AI simulator
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MLS performance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup
Major League Soccer teams have participated in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (formerly the CONCACAF Champions League from 2008 to 2023) each season since 1997. As of 2023[update], a maximum of ten MLS teams can qualify to the CONCACAF Champions Cup each season — one from the US Open Cup, one from the Canadian Championship, three through the Leagues Cup berths, and five through Major League Soccer.
Under the Champions Cup's updated format starting in 2008–09, the first MLS team to finish first in its group was Real Salt Lake in 2010.
The first Champions League title won by an MLS side occurred in 2022, when Seattle Sounders FC defeated Mexico's UNAM 5–2 on aggregate in the final. Seattle was therefore the first MLS side to participate at the FIFA Club World Cup. Real Salt Lake, CF Montréal, Toronto FC, Los Angeles FC, Columbus Crew and Vancouver Whitecaps FC all also reached the final, with Real Salt Lake losing to Monterrey in 2011, CF Montréal to América in 2015, Toronto FC to Guadalajara in 2018, Los Angeles FC to UANL in 2020, León in 2023, Columbus Crew to Pachuca in 2024 and Vancouver Whitecaps FC to Cruz Azul in 2025, respectively.
The following table shows the number of MLS participants in the Champions Cup each season, as well as the number of MLS teams that have reached various stages in the knockout rounds. MLS teams performed poorly during the first two years, as fixture congestion from the Superliga tournament as well as CONCACAF Champions League preliminary rounds meant that MLS teams often fielded teams without their first choice players.
Beginning in 2018, the Champions League format was changed to eliminate group play and the knockout round started with sixteen teams rather than eight. Beginning in 2024, the format was expanded to include five knockout rounds and twenty-seven teams.
Notes:
The following table shows the performance of MLS teams in the knockout rounds for each home-and-away series for opponents from various leagues. During the first nine seasons of the Champions League, MLS teams did not play any foreign teams in knockout stage other than Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama. With the change in tournament format in the 2018 season, specifically with the knockout rounds now including a round of 16, MLS teams have played knockout matches against a greater variety of countries.
In the Champions Cup knockout rounds, MLS teams have played Mexican teams more than any other country, in some years facing multiple matchups. Seattle's 2013 quarter-final win over Mexico's UANL was the first time since the Champions League format began in 2008–09 that an MLS team eliminated a Mexican team in the knockout rounds. Montreal repeated the feat in 2015 when they beat Mexico's Pachuca in the quarter-finals. In 2018, Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls both advanced to the semi-finals by beating Mexican teams, the first time that two MLS teams eliminated two Mexican teams in the same tournament. In 2020, Los Angeles FC became the first MLS team to eliminate three Mexican teams in the same tournament — beating Mexican opponents in the Round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, before losing in the final to a Mexican team. MLS' improved performance against Mexican teams was attributed to MLS club academies focused on player development, and an increase in player salaries through the league's Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) program.