How many MLS teams in 2023? List of clubs from USA, Canada in Major League Soccer and future expansion plans
Major League Soccer’s 2023 season will be a year of firsts in a number of ways, with the league’s newest club, St. Louis City SC, among the most notable developments during the new season.
St. Louis City SC joins expansion team Charlotte FC just one year after 2022, This brings the total number of clubs in the MLS to 29 teamsand there will be more to come.
The 29 clubs are divided into two conferences. St. Louis will join the Eastern Conferencemeaning the East table now has 15 teams, while the Western Conference has 14 teams.
While it can be difficult as a new club to compete among established teams, a solid year is not out of the question. Last year, Charlotte F.C impressed, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot while 2021 sits on the expansion side Austin F.C finished second in the Western Conference in just his second season. In the abridged 2020 COVID-19 campaign Nashville SC made the playoffs in his first season in the league.
MORE: How to watch MLS for 2023 season, stream exclusively on Apple TV
How many MLS teams in the 2023 season?
For the 2023 MLS campaign There are 29 clubs in the league.
Last season there were 28 teams with an even split between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, but this year the addition of St. Louis City SC has made things a bit uneven.
That means the Eastern Conference will be there 15 clubs are fighting for nine playoff placeswhile the western conference will see 14 clubs are also fighting for nine playoff places.
For this season’s new playoff format, the top seven finishers will advance to the actual first round, while the numbers 8 and 9 will secure a wildcard spot.
New 2023 MLS Extension Team: St. Louis City SC
The newest club to join the MLS ranks is St. Louis City SC, who join the league for its inaugural 2023 season.
Like recent expansion club Charlotte FC, St. Louis City SC is a brand new club formed to play in the MLS and not an established side joining the league from a lower division.
The City of St. Louis won the expansion in 2019, beating a challenge from Sacramento. The club is owned by Carolyn Kindle, the Taylor family, founders of Enterprise Holdings (a rental car conglomerate still headquartered outside of St. Louis), and the Kavanaugh family.
St Louis City SC will be coached in their inaugural season by Bradley Carnell, a former South Africa international who played for Stuttgart and Borussia Mönchengladbach during his playing career. He was hired by the New York Red Bulls, where he served as an assistant coach for four years, including a stint as interim head coach in 2020.
Next MLS expansion team
Major League Soccer has been open about its goal of reaching 30 clubs in total, with the next expansion team expected to be selected by the end of 2023, although it’s not clear when that club will start playing.
MLS commissioner Don Garber has indicated that Las Vegas and San Diego are the frontrunners for the home of the 30th team, with bids from Phoenix, Detroit, Tampa and Sacramento representing other potential future expansion cities.
“We say we stop at 30, but [some of] The other major leagues are bigger than that,” Garber said in a media session ahead of the start of the 2023 season. “I never say never in Major League Soccer. There are many other markets that represent opportunities for us.”
Many professional sports leagues in the United States have been lured by expansion to Las Vegas in recent years, with the NHL recently forming a new expansion team there and the NFL moving the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.
MLS has long been in talks with Las Vegas for an expansion, with over $50 million in public funds approved for a new stadium back in 2014. Garber said in December 2021 that Las Vegas’ bid is “the frontrunner” for the 30th team, but San Diego’s bid is also strong in the mix, with an ownership group that includes San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler, heard.
History of the MLS expansion team
Since the inaugural season of Major League Soccer competition in 1996, the US professional league has grown its ranks to the size of other major sports leagues in the country.
The league charges significant expansion fees for new clubs to join the ranks, with these sums feeding into the league’s current business model. Take the last two expansion sides, for example: Charlotte FC paid $325 million (December 2019) and St. Louis paid a $200 million fee (August 2019) for the right to be part of the MLS.
Below is an illustration of the league’s history of expansion, which has seen 11 new clubs join over the past nine seasons.
| Year | number | societies |
| 1996* | 10 | Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, DC United, Dallas Burn (later called FC Dallas), LA Galaxy, New England Revolution, MetroStars (later called NY Red Bulls), San Jose Clash (later called Earthquakes), Kansas City Wiz (later Sporting KC ), Mutiny in Tampa Bay |
| 1998 | 2 | Chicago Fire, Miami Fusion** |
| 2005 | 1 | Real Salt Lake, Chivas USA*** |
| 2006 | 1 | Houston Dynamo**** |
| 2007 | 1 | Toronto F.C |
| 2009 | 1 | Seattle Sounders |
| 2010 | 1 | PhiladelphiaUnion |
| 2011 | 2 | Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps |
| 2012 | 1 | Montreal Impact (later called CF Montreal) |
| 2015 | 2 | NYCFC, Orlando City SC |
| 2017 | 2 | Atlanta United, Minnesota United |
| 2018 | 1 | LAFC |
| 2019 | 1 | FC Cincinnati |
| 2020 | 2 | Inter Miami, Nashville SC |
| 2021 | 1 | Austin F.C |
| 2022 | 1 | Charlotte F.C |
| 2023 | 1 | St Louis City SC |
* = All clubs that started playing in MLS’ inaugural season in 1996. The Tampa Bay Mutiny ceased operations after the 2021 season.
** = The Miami Fusion ceased operations after the 2021 season.
*** = Chivas USA ceased operations after 2014, with its place in the league being taken over by LAFC in 2018.
**** = The San Jose team relocated to Houston to become Dynamo. In 2008 the earthquakes returned.