MLS 2024 Conference Team Count: A Breakdown of Teams in Each Conference

MLS 2024 Conference Team Count: The 2024 Major League Soccer regular season commences on February 21 and concludes on October 19. We shall now examine the squads.

Wednesday’s curtain opener at the DRV PNK stadium will feature Real Salt Lake and Leo Messi’s Inter Miami. There are eleven games in Week 1 starting with the defending champions, the Columbus Crew, at home against Atlanta.

It will be Messi’s inaugural complete season in Major League Soccer. Although Messi, Busquets, and Jordi Alba joined the club mid-season, it was too late to salvage the team’s season. Miami’s sole consolation was winning its first League Cup, despite finishing in last place nine points out of playoff contention. This season, the Herons will be striving to better upon that statistic; advancing to the postseason is the primary objective.

Inter Miami anticipates more trophies in 2024

Messi et al. will also be engaged in competition on multiple fronts; they advance to the Round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup and face an unidentified opponent in their opening match on March 7. In the summer, their objective will be to replicate their triumph in the League Cup.

Each of the 29 teams competing in the current season has made roster additions. Inter Miami has signed Luis Suárez and Hugo Lloris, while Orlando City has acquired Luis Muriel and David Brekalo. Among the most significant offseason transfers were Aaron Boupendza to Cincinnati, Sam Surridge to Nashville, Diego Rossi to the Crew, and Jovan Mijatovic to New York City FC.

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No expansion MLS franchise

A decade will pass without the addition of an expansion team to the MLS. San Diego FC was the final franchise to enter the league prior to St. Louis City SC’s 2025 season debut. 29 teams that participated in the previous year’s campaign will participate in the current one, with the teams being separated into the Eastern and Western conferences.

During the regular season, all 29 teams will compete in 34 contests, consisting of 17 at home and 17 abroad. During the season, Eastern Conference teams will face six cross-conference opponents, whereas all Western Conference teams will face between six and seven distinct cross-conference opponents.

MLS Cup Playoff Wild Card matches will be played between each conference’s top two teams in October following the regular season. The winner of each Wild Card game will earn a spot in the Round One Best-of-3 series.