The Eastern Conference is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Western Conference. As of 2023, the Eastern Conference contains fifteen teams. The conference has produced sixteen Supporters' Shield champions and ten

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

winners in Major League Soccer's first 27 seasons. In 2000 and 2001, the conference was referred to as the ''Eastern Division'' when Major League Soccer briefly reorganized into three divisions.

2023 standings

Members

Current

Conference lineups by year

1996–97 (5 teams)

''Changes from 1995'': Creation of the Major League Soccer.

1998–99 (6 teams)

''Changes from 1997'':

New York/New Jersey MetroStars New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

simplified their name to ''New York MetroStars''; the

Miami Fusion The Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best seas ...

were added in the 1998 expansion.

2000–01 (as Eastern Division) (4 teams)

''Changes from 1999'': The Eastern Conference changed its name to Eastern Division with the creation of the Central Division; the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

and the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

moved to the new

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

2002–04 (5 teams)

''Changes from 2001'': The Eastern Division changed back its name to Eastern Conference following the contraction of the

and the

, resulting in the disbanding of the Central Division; Chicago Fire and

moved in from the Central Division

2005 (6 teams)

''Changes from 2004'': Kansas City Wizards moved in from the Western Conference

2006 (6 teams)

''Changes from 2005'': The New York MetroStars were bought by Red Bull and changed their name to ''

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

''.

2007–09 (7 teams)

''Changes from 2006'':

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

was added as an expansion franchise.

2010 (8 teams)

''Changes from 2009'': The Philadelphia Union was added as an expansion franchise.

2011 (9 teams)

''Changes from 2010'': The Kansas City Wizards changed their name to ''Sporting Kansas City''; Houston Dynamo moved in from the Western Conference.

2012–14 (10 teams)

''Changes from 2011'': The Montreal Impact was added as an expansion franchise

2015–16 (10 teams)

''Changes from 2014'':

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...

and Orlando City SC were added as expansion franchises; Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo moved out to the Western Conference; Columbus Crew adds "SC" to the official team name.

2017–18 (11 teams)

''Changes from 2016'':

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

was added as an expansion franchise.

2019 (12 teams)

''Changes from 2018'':

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...

was added as an expansion franchise.

2020 (14 teams)

''Changes from 2019'':

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2 ...

was added as an expansion franchise;

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

was added since the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League Soccer teams, 24 participated in the tourna ...

up to the end of the 2020 season; Chicago Fire SC was renamed Chicago Fire FC.

2021 (14 teams)

''Changes from 2020'': Nashville SC moved in from the Western Conference; the Montreal Impact was renamed Club de Foot Montréal. Columbus Crew SC was briefly renamed to Columbus SC and then to Columbus Crew.

2022 (14 teams)

''Changes from 2021'':

Charlotte FC Charlotte FC is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise ...

was added as a then-unnamed expansion franchise in 2019, with its first season initially set for 2021 but delayed by a year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Nashville SC moved back to the Western Conference.

2023 (15 teams)

''Changes from 2022'': Nashville SC was moved back to the Eastern Conference as expansion side St. Louis City SC was added to the Western Conference.

Eastern Conference playoff champions by year

Note: The Conference Finals were a best-of-three series through 2001 (including the MLS semifinals in 2000 and 2001, when a conference playoff format was not used). Matches tied after regulation were decided by a shoot-out. In 2002, a similar format was used except that draws were allowed and the team earning the most points advanced. From 2003 through 2011, the Finals were a single match. Matches tied after regulation moved to extra time (

Golden goal The golden goal or golden point is a rule used in association football, lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sud ...

extra time was implemented for 2003 only), then a shoot-out if necessary. Beginning in 2012, the finals were a two-match aggregate series. The away goals rule for series that finished even on aggregate was first implemented in 2014. Extra time and shoot-outs are used if necessary, although away goals did not apply in extra time. In 2019, the playoffs returned to a single match format (including the Conference Finals), hosted by the higher ranked team through the regular season. ^W – Western Conference team.

Eastern Conference regular season champions by year

^ – MLS did not have draws until the 2000 season.
† – Miami Fusion were declared winners of the Eastern Division in 2001 after the

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

terrorist attacks forced the cancellation of the rest of the regular season. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 20.

References

External links

Complete MLS History
{{MLS Conference Champions Major League Soccer Divisions of sports leagues

2023 standings

Members

Current

Conference lineups by year

1996–97 (5 teams)

1998–99 (6 teams)

2000–01 (as Eastern Division) (4 teams)

2002–04 (5 teams)

2005 (6 teams)

2006 (6 teams)

2007–09 (7 teams)

2010 (8 teams)

2011 (9 teams)

2012–14 (10 teams)

2015–16 (10 teams)

2017–18 (11 teams)

2019 (12 teams)

2020 (14 teams)

2021 (14 teams)

2022 (14 teams)

2023 (15 teams)

Eastern Conference playoff champions by year

Eastern Conference regular season champions by year

See also

References

External links