Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is the top professional men’s association football league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1993, it began play in 1996 and operates as a single-entity league.

Single-entity structure: A sports-league structure in which the league centrally owns teams and contracts players, while investors operate clubs. MLS centrally contracts players and grants investors rights to operate its clubs.
1994 FIFA World Cup: The international men’s football tournament hosted by the United States in 1994. Hosting the tournament helped secure the commitment to establish a domestic top-flight league.
MLS Cup: The annual championship match concluding the Major League Soccer playoffs. It is the league’s defining postseason event and awards its championship.
English Football League system: The interconnected English football divisions, linked by promotion and relegation between clubs. Unlike this open pyramid, MLS uses fixed membership without promotion or relegation.
Soccer-specific stadium: A stadium designed primarily for association football rather than adapted from another sport’s venue. MLS expansion encouraged clubs to build venues tailored to soccer and local supporters.
MLS roster rules: The rules governing how Major League Soccer clubs assemble players within roster and budget limits. These rules translate MLS’s centralized structure into constraints on each club’s squad.
Lamar Hunt: An American sports entrepreneur who founded or co-founded several professional teams and leagues, including MLS. Hunt was an early investor and owner whose support helped launch the league.
Supporters' Shield: An annual award for the Major League Soccer club with the best regular-season record. It recognizes regular-season performance separately from the playoff championship.
Liga MX: Mexico’s top professional men’s association football league. Liga MX is a nearby rival league with a different ownership and competition history.
U.S. men's national soccer team: The national association football team representing the United States in international competition. MLS created a domestic professional setting for developing and employing U.S. internationals.

Linked from 9 pages