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 are not included in the data. 

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.