Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional men's soccer league founded in 1993. The league is headquartered in New York City and features 19 teams divided into eastern and western conferences. MLS is led by Commissioner Don Garber, who has helped grow the popularity of soccer in the United States since taking the role in 1999. Teams compete annually over a March to October season for the Supporter's Shield and MLS Cup titles.

1. Major League Soccer
Founded 1993
by Andrew Looney

2. Headquarters & Website
The Major League Soccer headquarters
is located on 420 5th Ave, New York, NY.
http://tinyurl.com/mo25xod
The league website is:
http://www.mlssoccer.com

3. Commissioner
The commissioner of the MLS is Don Garber.
He has been the commissioner since 1999.
Garber is also the CEO of Soccer United, the
marketing branch for the MLS, and is on the
United States Soccer Federation board of
directors.
He spent 16 years working in the NFL before
being selected as commissioner for the MLS.
Garber has played a very important role in the
rise of the MLS and soccer in America.

4. LinkedIn Profile
Michele Toher – works in the
Commissioners Office
https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=77456700&authType=na
me&authToken=zAMC&offset=1&trk=prof-sb-pdm-similar-photo

5. Teams
• There are 19 teams, 9 in the Western Conference, 10 in the
Eastern Conference
• 2 new teams aregoingto be added for the 2015 season, and
1 new team will be added for the 2017 season
• The new additions are New York City FC and Orlando City
Sc. Atlanta is the third team to be added, but does not have
an official name yet.

6. Players
• There are at least 23 players on every MLS
team. Enough for a starting XI (11), maximum
amount of substitutes on the bench (7), and
reserve players that fill the roster (5). For the
current season I’d say there are about 437
players on a team, and then include free
agents, I’d say there are between 550 and 600
active MLS players.

7. Season Length
• The season runs from March to October
• The league is divided into Eastern Division and
Western Division
• There are 34 games in an unbalanced
schedule
• The team with the most points wins the
Supporters’ Shield
• At the end of the regular season, there is a
ten-team playoffs for the MLS Cup

8. Supporters’ Shield
The Seattle Sounders are the current holders of
the MLS Supporters’ Shield (2014).
They finished the season with 64 points, 5 more
points than Eastern Conference leaders D.C.
United.

9. MLS Cup
Sporting Kansas City are the current MLS Cup
Champions (2013). They beat Real Salt Lake 7 -6
in a penalty shoot-out after drawing 1-1 through
regular time and extra time.

10. Player Awards
• The Current MVP of Major League Soccer is
Mike Magee of the Chicago Fire (2013).
• Bradley Wright-Phillips of the New York Red
Bulls is the MLS leading goal scorer, winning
the MLS Golden Boot (2014).
• The Defender of the Year award is currently
held by José Gonçalves of the New England
Revolution (2013).
• The Portland Timbers’ Donovan Ricketts is the
current holder of the Goalie of the Year award
(2013).

12. New England Revolution
The New England Revolution are the team
closest to me. They play at Gillette Stadium,
which is also the home of the NE Patriots, in
Foxboro, MA.

13. Investigating the Impact of Economic Uncertainties on
Attendance of Premier League Soccer in the United Kingdom
and Major League Soccer in the United States
• Compares attendance of EPL games in the UK and
attendance of MLS games in the U.S. and how they
correlate with their respective countries’ household
disposable income from 2002-2008.
• Compares the spectator base of the other top sports in
America with the MLS and how it defines the MLS as a
rising sport.
• UK fans are more likely to make financial sacrifices to
budget soccer match attendance, whereas the US fans
more likely wouldn’t during a recession.
• http://tinyurl.com/oz39mex

14. Warrior Sports
• Warrior Sports is a sporting goods company
that specializes in manufacturing top-notch
sports equipment for lacrosse, hockey, and
soccer.
• Warrior was founded in 1992 by a former
champion lacrosse player. They were acquired
by New Balance in 2004, and acquired Brine
Sporting Goods themselves in 2007.

15. Warrior Sports
• Warrior Sports main headquarters is in Warren,
Michigan.
• They also have headquarters in Germany and Finland.
• Warrior has many distributors across Europe and
Asia in countries such as Russia, Ukraine,
Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Japan, China,
Korea, and many other countries.
http://www.warrior.com

16. Sources
• http://www.mlssoccer.com
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Soccer
• http://tinyurl.com/mo25xod
• http://tinyurl.com/oz39mex
• http://tinyurl.com/lpth5ts
• http://www.warrior.com