USA/Canada: Clubs Ranked - 1996 to 2024

North American soccer kicked off in 1996 with the MLS or Major League Soccer competition. It started off with ten teams and currently has twenty nine with San Diego to make it thirty in 2025. I believe thirty two will happen at some time. 

The chart to the right shows the top five clubs so far. With the expansion that has taken place, some clubs are new so have no chance of featuring but many of the new ones have done really well. The 'USA' column shows points accrued domestically and the 'Tot' column includes international tournaments.

How are the points earned? For the MLS League (Division 1) the top four are rewarded with 6, 4 and 2. The US Open Cup 4 and 2. In the CONCACAF Champions League it's 8, 4 and 2 points. For the newly formed Leagues Cup, 4 and 2. 

The MSL leads to a finals series and that's where points are garnered. The points are quite well shared as well, I assume the draft pick helps with that. Not something done in other leagues. 

Recent winners are Toronto FC (2017), Atlanta Utd (2018), the Seattle Sounders (2019), Columbus Crew (2020 & 2023), New York City FC (2021), Los Angeles FC in 2022 and LA Galaxy (2024).

The US Open Cup was founded in 1914 but due to the amateur status of the game in the country for much of that time, I decided to start counting it from the inception of MLS. That's from the 1996 season. MLS sides have dominated the finals since then with the odd exception. 

It wasn't held in 2020 and 2021. Recent winners are Sporting Kansas City (2015 & 2017), FC Dallas (2016), Houston Dynamo (2018 & 2023), and Orlando City SC. Clubs not in the MLS were not initialy ncluded in the data but I changed that. 

The CONCACAF Champions League was an immediate success for MLS teams when they formed and entered. It hasn't quite maintained the early level of success but apart from a few lean patches, has been fairly consistent. Mexican clubs especially and also MLS sides now dominate the competition.

The Leagues Cup has only been held on three occasions so far with the 2023 event going well for MLS clubs. Inter Miami CF and the Seattle Sounders playing in that final. The last event really expanded in size. Teams from Canada, Mexico and the US compete. 

All put together, the clubs are listed below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. Any suggestions? Please leave a comment. 

I divided the clubs into regions and it was to a point shaped by the conference MLS system. Eastern Conference makes up East and has taken 37.7% of the points. The Western Conference is divided into the West Coast (29.9%) and Central (24.6%). South (4.2&) is the south east and Canada has its own category of three clubs and 4.2% of the total. 

Please note three sides gained points for success in the Open Cup but have not played in the MLS. The Miami Fusion, Rochester Rhinos and the Tampa Bay Mutiny are no longer in existence. 

This article was amended and updated on the 8th of December, 2024. 

Mexico: Clubs Ranked - 1960/61 to 2023/24

The top clubs in Mexico are listed to the right. Points are allocated for both domestic (Mex) and then international tournaments are added to create the 'Tot' figure. 

How are the points earned? For Division 1, the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The Cup Mx, it's 4 and two for the finalists.  In the international competitions, 8, 4 and 2 points. For the newly formed Leagues Cup, 6, 3 and 1.  

For the league, since 1996/97, there has been the Apertura or Opening League for Liga Mx. It's also been called the Invierno. The most successful clubs are to the left. Recent winners have been Club León in 2020/21, followed by Atlas FC, CF Pachuca and CF América. 

The Clausura or Closing League has been the one that's been around for all of this period being covered. It also had the name Verano. Since 2020/21 the winners have been Cruz Azul, Atlas FC, Tigres UNAL and CF América. The latter has a comfortable lead over the other clubs.

Mexico played in the South American Copa Libertadores between 1998 and 2016. It also has recently been part of the new League Cup with top MLS side but few games have been played. The main competition of the CONCACAF which started in the 1960's and now expanded to include North and Central America plus the Caribbean. Much success can be seen in the chart to the right.

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. Any suggestions? Please leave a comment. 

Running two league competitions is unusual and it doubles up the league titles that can be won. Amazingly the two titles are not usually won by the same club although CF América did in 2024.

The central region surrounding Mexico City is the most successful with 49.2% of the total. To the west of that region comes next with 25.2%, then east for 20.5%. The south (3.9%) and north (1.1%) have had little impact. 

China: Clubs Ranked - 1987 to 2023

Football has history here but it was in 1987 that a semi professional Jia-A League started. It went fully pro in 1994 and then was named the Super League in 2004.

To the right is a list of the top clubs since 1987. Chn is points awarded in China and Tot when adding Asia. 

Points are earned in the first division league 6,3,2 and 1. The FA Cup 4 and 2 for the finalists. Success in the Asia Club Championship 8,4 and 2. 

The top Super League /  Jia-A League clubs are listed the the left. The points are close as clubs were formed and disbanded so few have a long history to get a lead on the others. 

Recent winners are Jiangsu FC in 2020,  Shandong Taishan 2021, Wuhan Three Towns 2022 and Shanghai Port FC in 2023. 

The FA Cup started in 1995 and wasn't held between 2007 and 2010 so that's 25 times held. Shandong Taishan has been clearly the most successful. It won the cup three times from 2020 to 2022 but lost the final to Shanghai Shenhua in 2023.

The Asia Club Championship has been quite successful for Clubs in China. Between them they have won it three times, twice losing finalists and nine times semi finalists. 

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. Any suggestions? Please leave a comment. 

Football in China hasn't been without incident. A major problem is often linked to payoffs to players and match officials to benefit gambling syndicates. In 2003, there was no winner of the league competition when the top side was stripped of its title. Hopefully, it has been stamped out thanks to strict action taken against those caught. 

I don't know much about regions in China but the clubs listed are divided into East which took 239 points (37.8%), North East (25.6%), South Central (19.9%), North (15.0%) and South West (1.6%). 

The clubs with a + after their name are no longer active, fourteen in all! Some without that symbol have not been active through the full period since 1987. The East looks to be the dominant area in the immediate future.