US Soccer Competitions: Every professional cup and tournament explained

1. Supporters’ Shield

Inter Miami with the Supporters’ Shield (Image credit: CHRIS ARJOON/AFP via Getty Images)

In contrast to just about every other major soccer country in the world, the United States does not define its champion based on the regular season. Instead, the team that finishes with the best regular season record out of the entire 30 teams will come away with the Supporters’ Shield.

The Supporters’ Shield isn’t just a prestigious trophy – it also guarantees you homefield advantage from the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs all the way to the final. However, it hasn’t always coincided with the ultimate prize, as Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami came to found out last season. After finishing with an MLS record 74 points, Miami were bounced in the opening round of the playoffs by Atlanta United.

Furthermore, the Supporters’ Shield champions will host the Campeones Cup Final against the best team in Mexico. They will face off against whichever team wins the Campeón de Campeones, an annual match held between the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura winners.

2. MLS Cup

The Philip F. Anschutz trophy is seen on the field before the start of a match between Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City (Image credit: Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Only six teams have managed to pull off the elusive Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup double, with just two teams completing the feat in the past 11 years. Philadelphia will be looking to break that trend and conquer the biggest prize in American soccer for the first time in club history.

The Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions face off against the winners of the wild-card match between the eighth and ninth-placed team, with a total of eight teams competing in the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

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The higher-ranked team will host the first match (and third if necessary), with the two sides facing off in a penalty shootout in the event of a stalemate after 90 minutes.

After playing two or three legs in the opening round, it then goes to a sudden-death, one-leg format for the Conference Semifinals, Conference Finals, and MLS Cup Finals.

Every match will go to 120 minutes and potentially a penalty shootout if necessary to determine the winner, and every match will be hosted by the higher-ranked opponent in the Supporters’ Shield standings.

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3. U.S. Open Cup

The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final trophy is displayed before Seattle Sounders play Sporting Kansas City (Image credit: Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

Whilst the MLS Cup and the Supporters’ Shield are the two most coveted trophies in American soccer, they’re far from the most senior in rank. That title would go to the U.S. Open Cup, which has been in business since the 1913/14 season.

This competition is a single-elimination tournament that has been contested by at least 80 teams since the 2014 edition, and it doesn’t just consist of MLS teams, but teams all across the American pyramid, mixing professional and amateur sides together and consistently serving up its fair share of matches, which last up to 120 minutes and a penalty shootout if necessary.

But despite its historical context, MLS has taken steps to ensure that not all of its teams compete in this tournament. On December 15, 2023, MLS announced that affiliated reserve teams from MLS Next Pro would be sent in place of MLS teams for the 2024 U.S. Open Cup Final, only for U.S. Soccer to deny the request.

For the first time in the modern era, the US Open Cup defending champions did not defend their crown with LAFC participating in the Concacaf Champions Cup. The U.S. soccer authorities have been careful to ensure that teams competing in the Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup are not burdened with fixture congestion, with 16 MLS teams taking part in the fourth round of the 2025 U.S. Open Cup and the others sending their reserve side in their place.

4. Leagues Cup

David Beckham celebrates with the Leagues Cup trophy (Image credit: Pablo Morano/MB Media/Getty Images)

History was made in 2019 when Liga MX and MLS announced the first-ever annual soccer competition between clubs of two different leagues. The first three editions would see four teams from each country compete in the Leagues Cup, but the 2023 edition would see all 47 sides from the USA and Mexico’s top soccer divisions compete in the tournament, with both leagues needing to take a one-month pause in order to hold the tournament.

It couldn’t have come at a better time for expansion, as Lionel Messi immediately integrated into his new Inter Miami side and elevated them from MLS’ cellar to beating Nashville the first-ever edition of the expanded Leagues Cup Final, whilst the 2024 tournament would see Columbus edge LAFC to the title. However, the 2025 edition would see only 18 of the 30 MLS teams compete, whilst all 18 Liga MX teams competed.

In contrast to previous editions where each team competes in a three-team group in order to reach the knockout round, this edition featured a league phase of three games, with each of the four highest-ranked Liga MX and MLS teams advancing. There was an all-American podium for the second straight year, with all four MLS teams winning in the quarterfinals, and Seattle beating Miami on home soil.

5. CONCACAF Champions Cup

Salomon Rondon of Pachuca celebrates with the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Image credit: Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)

Last but certainly not least, there is the CONCACAF Champions Cup, which is MLS teams’ equivalent of the UEFA Champions League. As a result of a newly expanded version that commenced in 2024, five MLS teams qualify for the tournament in addition to six Liga MX clubs, two Canadian Premier League clubs, the U.S. Open Cup winner, the Canadian Championship winner, three Leagues Cup sides, six Central America Cup clubs, and three Caribbean Cup clubs.

Whilst 22 clubs enter the tournament in the opening round, five teams (the winners of MLS Cup, Liga MX, Leagues Cup, Central American Cup, and Caribbean Cup) receive byes to the Round of 16. So far, Seattle, Miami and the LA Galaxy have already qualified for the 2026 edition after winning the gold, silver and bronze medals in the Leagues Cup, whereas Nashville and Vancouver qualified after winning the U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship, in addition to Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia, and FC Cincinnati.

Since the tournament’s launch in 1962, only three American sides have been able to get their hands on the continental title: D.C. United in 1998, LA Galaxy in 2000 and Seattle Sounders in 2022. Could we see a fourth American champion in 2026?