Surf Wiki
Save to docs
geography/united-states

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Western Conference (MLS)

Collection of top-flight soccer teams in North America

Collection of top-flight soccer teams in North America

FieldValue
titleWestern Conference
pixels150px
leagueMajor League Soccer
sportSoccer
founded1996
teams15
championVancouver Whitecaps FC (2025)
(1st title)
most_champsLA Galaxy
(8 titles)

(1st title) (8 titles)

The Western Conference is one of the two Major League Soccer conferences, along with the Eastern Conference. The division of the conferences broadly follows the path of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, with clubs on, or west of the river in the Western Conference.

As of 2025, the Western Conference contains 15 teams. The conference has produced 11 Supporters' Shield champions and 18 MLS Cup winners in Major League Soccer's first 29 seasons. In 2000 and 2001, the conference was referred to as the Western Division when Major League Soccer briefly reorganized into three divisions.

2025 standings

Members

Current

TeamCityStadium
Austin FCAustin, TexasQ2 Stadium
Colorado RapidsCommerce City, ColoradoDick's Sporting Goods Park
FC DallasFrisco, TexasToyota Stadium
Houston Dynamo FCHouston, TexasShell Energy Stadium
LA GalaxyCarson, CaliforniaDignity Health Sports Park
Los Angeles FCLos Angeles, CaliforniaBMO Stadium
Minnesota United FCSaint Paul, MinnesotaAllianz Field
Portland TimbersPortland, OregonProvidence Park
Real Salt LakeSandy, UtahAmerica First Field
San Diego FCSan Diego, CaliforniaSnapdragon Stadium
San Jose EarthquakesSan Jose, CaliforniaPayPal Park
Seattle Sounders FCSeattle, WashingtonLumen Field
Sporting Kansas CityKansas City, KansasSporting Park
St. Louis City SCSt. Louis, MissouriEnergizer Park
Vancouver Whitecaps FCVancouver, British ColumbiaBC Place

Timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1200 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1996 till:2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:100 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 # to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20" Colors = id:barcolor id:line value:pink id:bg value:white id:Eastern value:rgb(0.5,0.6,0.82) # Use this color to denote a that a team was in the Eastern Conference. id:Western value:rgb(0.95,0.68,0.3) # Use this color to denote a that a team was in the Western Conference. id:Central value:rgb(0.82,0.6,0.62) # Use this color to denote a that a team was in the Central Division.

PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black fontsize:L shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:Western from:1996 till:end text:Colorado Rapids (1996–present)

bar:2 color:Western from:1996 till:2000 text:Dallas Burn (1996–1999) bar:2 color:Central from:2000 till:2002 width:8 text: bar:2 color:Western from:2002 till:end text:FC Dallas (2002–present)

bar:3 color:Western from:1996 till:2005 text:Kansas City Wizards (1996–2004) bar:3 color:Eastern from:2005 till:2015 width:8 text: bar:3 color:Western from:2015 till:end text:Sporting Kansas City (2015–present)

bar:4 color:Western from:1996 till:end text:Los Angeles Galaxy (1996–present)

bar:5 color:Western from:1996 till:2006 text:San Jose Earthquakes (1996–2005) bar:5 color:Western from:2008 till:end text:San Jose Earthquakes (2008–present)

bar:6 color:Western from:1998 till:2000 text:Chicago Fire (1998–1999) bar:6 color:Central from:2000 till:2002 width:8 text: bar:6 color:Eastern from:2002 till:end width:8 text:

bar:7 color:Western from:2005 till:2015 text:Chivas USA (2005–2014)

bar:8 color:Western from:2005 till:end text:Real Salt Lake (2005–present)

bar:9 color:Western from:2008 till:2011 text:Houston Dynamo (2008–2010) bar:9 color:Eastern from:2011 till:2015 width:8 text: bar:9 color:Western from:2015 till:end text:Houston Dynamo FC (2015–present)

bar:10 color:Western from:2009 till:end text:Seattle Sounders FC (2009–present)

bar:11 color:Western from:2011 till:end text:Portland Timbers (2011–present)

bar:12 color:Western from:2011 till:end text:Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2011–present)

bar:13 color:Western from:2017 till:end text:Minnesota United FC (2017–present)

bar:14 color:Western from:2018 till:end text:Los Angeles FC (2018–present)

bar:15 color:Eastern from:2020 till:2022 width:8 text: bar:15 color:Western from:2022 till:2023 text:Nashville SC (2022) bar:15 color:Eastern from:2023 till:end width:8 text:

bar:16 color:Western from:2021 till:end text:Austin FC (2021–present)

bar:17 color:Western from:2023 till:end text:St. Louis City SC (2023–present)

bar:18 color:Western from:2025 till:end text:San Diego FC (2025–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:4 start:1996 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:

Conference lineups by year

1996 (5 teams)

  • Colorado Rapids
  • Dallas Burn
  • Kansas City Wiz
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • San Jose Clash Changes from 1995: Creation of the Major League Soccer.

1997 (5 teams)

  • Colorado Rapids
  • Dallas Burn
  • Kansas City Wizards
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • San Jose Clash Changes from 1996: Kansas City changed their name from Wiz to Wizards.

1998–99 (6 teams)

  • Chicago Fire
  • Colorado Rapids
  • Dallas Burn
  • Kansas City Wizards
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • San Jose Clash Changes from 1997: Chicago Fire was added in the 1998 expansion.

2000–01 (as ''Western Division'') (4 teams)

  • Colorado Rapids
  • Kansas City Wizards
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • San Jose Earthquakes Changes from 1999: The Western Conference renamed itself the Western Division upon the creation of the Central Division; Chicago Fire and Dallas Burn moved into the new division; The San Jose Clash renamed to the Earthquakes.

2002–04 (5 teams)

  • Colorado Rapids
  • Dallas Burn
  • Kansas City Wizards
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • San Jose Earthquakes Changes from 2001: The Western Division renamed back to Western Conference following the contraction of the Miami Fusion and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, resulting in the disbanding of the Central Division; Dallas Burn moved in from the Central Division.

2005 (6 teams)

  • Chivas USA
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes Changes from 2004: Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake were added in the 2005 expansion; Kansas City Wizards moved to the Eastern Conference; The Dallas Burn renamed to FC Dallas.

2006–07 (6 teams)

  • Chivas USA
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • Real Salt Lake Changes from 2005: The San Jose Earthquakes was put on hiatus; The Houston Dynamo joined the league as an expansion franchise.

2008 (7 teams)

  • Chivas USA
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes Changes from 2007: The San Jose Earthquakes return to MLS after its hiatus.

2009–10 (8 teams)

  • Chivas USA
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC Changes from 2008: Seattle Sounders FC was added in the 2009 expansion.

2011–14 (9 teams)

  • Chivas USA
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC Changes from 2010: The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC were added in the 2011 expansion; Houston Dynamo moved to the Eastern Conference.

2015–16 (10 teams)

  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Sporting Kansas City
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC Changes from 2014: Chivas USA ceases operations; Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo move in from the Eastern Conference.

2017 (11 teams)

  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • Minnesota United FC
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Sporting Kansas City
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC Changes from 2016: Minnesota United FC was added in the 2017 expansion.

2018–19 (12 teams)

  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo
  • LA Galaxy
  • Los Angeles FC
  • Minnesota United FC
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Sporting Kansas City
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC Changes from 2017: Los Angeles FC was added in the 2018 expansion.

2020 (12 teams)

  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo
  • LA Galaxy
  • Los Angeles FC
  • Minnesota United FC
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Sporting Kansas City
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC Changes from 2019: Nashville SC was added in the 2020 expansion, but moved to the Eastern Conference since the MLS is Back Tournament up to the end of the 2020 season.

2021 (13 teams)

  • Austin FC
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo FC
  • LA Galaxy
  • Los Angeles FC
  • Minnesota United FC
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Sporting Kansas City
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Changes from 2020: Nashville SC moved to the Eastern Conference; Austin FC was added in the 2021 expansion; Houston Dynamo added "FC" to their name.

2022 (14 teams)

  • Austin FC
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo FC
  • LA Galaxy
  • Los Angeles FC
  • Minnesota United FC
  • Nashville SC
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Sporting Kansas City
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Change from 2021: Nashville SC moved in from the Eastern Conference.

2023–24 (14 teams)

  • Austin FC
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo FC
  • LA Galaxy
  • Los Angeles FC
  • Minnesota United FC
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Sporting Kansas City
  • St. Louis City SC
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Changes from 2022: Nashville SC moved back to the Eastern Conference as expansion side St. Louis City SC was added to the Western Conference.

2025–26 (15 teams)

  • Austin FC
  • Colorado Rapids
  • FC Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo FC
  • LA Galaxy
  • Los Angeles FC
  • Minnesota United FC
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Diego FC
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Sporting Kansas City
  • St. Louis City SC
  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC Changes from 2024: San Diego FC was added in the 2025 expansion.

Western Conference playoff champions by year

Note: The conference finals were a best-of-three series through 2001 (including the MLS semifinals in 2000 and 2001, when a conference playoff format was not used). Matches tied after regulation were decided by a shoot-out. In 2002, a similar format was used except that draws were allowed and the team earning the most points advanced. From 2003 through 2011, the Finals were a single match. Matches tied after regulation went to extra time (Golden goal extra time was implemented for 2003 only), then a shoot-out if necessary. Beginning in 2012, the finals were a two-match aggregate series. The away goals rule for series that finished even on aggregate was first implemented in 2014. Extra time and shoot-outs were used if necessary, although away goals did not apply in extra time. In 2019, the playoffs returned to a single match, single elimination format (including the conference finals), which were hosted by the higher placed team in the regular season.

From 2015 to 2021, the Western Conference was represented in the MLS Cup by either Seattle Sounders FC or the Portland Timbers.

SeasonChampionsScoreRunners-up
1996LA Galaxy2 matches to 0Kansas City Wizards
1997Colorado Rapids2 matches to 0Dallas Burn
1998Chicago Fire2 matches to 0LA Galaxy
1999LA Galaxy2 matches to 1Dallas Burn
2000No conference playoffs
2001No conference playoffs
2002No conference playoffs
2003San Jose Earthquakes3–2Kansas City Wizards
2004Kansas City Wizards2–0LA Galaxy
2005LA Galaxy2–0Colorado Rapids
2006Houston Dynamo3–1Colorado Rapids
2007Houston Dynamo2–0Kansas City Wizards
2008New York Red BullsE1–0Real Salt Lake
2009LA Galaxy2–0Houston Dynamo
2010FC Dallas3–0LA Galaxy
2011LA Galaxy3–1Real Salt Lake
2012LA Galaxy4–2 agg.Seattle Sounders FC
2013Real Salt Lake5–2 agg.Portland Timbers
2014LA Galaxy2–2 agg. (a)Seattle Sounders FC
2015Portland Timbers5–3 agg.FC Dallas
2016Seattle Sounders FC3–1 agg.Colorado Rapids
2017Seattle Sounders FC5–0 agg.Houston Dynamo
2018Portland Timbers3–2 agg.Sporting Kansas City
2019Seattle Sounders FC3–1Los Angeles FC
2020Seattle Sounders FC3–2Minnesota United FC
2021Portland Timbers2–0Real Salt Lake
2022Los Angeles FC3–0Austin FC
2023Los Angeles FC2–0Houston Dynamo FC
2024LA Galaxy1–0Seattle Sounders FC
2025Vancouver Whitecaps FC3–1San Diego FC

E – Eastern Conference team.

Western Conference Champion counts by team

As of the 2025 season, a total of sixteen different teams have competed in the Western Conference finals, and thirteen of those teams have won at least once. In the table below, teams are ordered first by the number of appearances in a Western Conference finals, then by the number of wins, and finally by year. Note that this table does not include years that a Western Conference team appeared in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs (such as 2010), and it does include appearances by Eastern Conference teams. Chivas USA (defunct), Nashville SC, and St. Louis City SC and have never made it to the Western Conference finals.

ClubAppearancesWinsLossesMost recent Year of Appearance
LA Galaxy11832024
Seattle Sounders FC7432024
Houston Dynamo FC5232023
Sporting Kansas City5142007
Colorado Rapids4132016
FC Dallas4132015
Real Salt Lake4132013
Portland Timbers4312021
New York Red Bulls (Eastern Conference team)1102008
San Jose Earthquakes1102003
Chicago Fire FC (now in Eastern Conference)1101998
Vancouver Whitecaps FC1102025
Minnesota United FC1012020
Los Angeles FC3212023
Austin FC1012022
San Diego FC1012025

Western Conference regular season champions by year

Since 2013, the winner of each conference has qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

YearTeamRecord (W–L–T) (GD)Playoffs result
1996LA Galaxy19–13–0^ (+10)
1997Kansas City Wizards21–11–0^ (+6)Lost conference semifinals
1998LA Galaxy24–8–0^ (+41)
1999LA Galaxy20–12–0^ (+20)
2000Kansas City Wizards16–7–9 (+18)
2001LA Galaxy†14–7–5 (+16)
2002LA Galaxy16–9–3 (+11)
2003San Jose Earthquakes14–7–9 (+10)
2004Kansas City Wizards14–9–7 (+8)
2005San Jose Earthquakes18–4–10 (+22)Lost conference semifinals
2006FC Dallas16–12–4 (+4)Lost conference semifinals
2007Chivas USA15–7–8 (+18)Lost conference semifinals
2008Houston Dynamo13–5–12 (+13)Lost conference semifinals
2009LA Galaxy12–6–12 (+5)
2010LA Galaxy18–7–5 (+18)
2011LA Galaxy19–5–10 (+20)
2012San Jose Earthquakes19–6–9 (+29)Lost conference semifinals
2013Portland Timbers14–5–15 (+21)
2014Seattle Sounders FC20–10–4 (+15)
2015FC Dallas18–10–6 (+13)
2016FC Dallas17–8–9 (+10)Lost conference semifinals
2017Portland Timbers15–11–8 (+10)Lost conference semifinals
2018Sporting Kansas City18–8–8 (+25)
2019Los Angeles FC21–4–9 (+48)
2020Sporting Kansas City12–6–3 (+13)Lost conference semifinals
2021Colorado Rapids17–7–10 (+16)Lost conference semifinals
2022Los Angeles FC21–9–4 (+28)
2023St. Louis City SC17–12–5 (+17)Lost first round
2024Los Angeles FC19–7–8 (+20)Lost conference semifinals
2025San Diego FC19–9–6 (+23)Lost conference finals

^ – MLS did not have draws until the 2000 season.

† – The LA Galaxy were declared winners of the Western Division in 2001 after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks forced the cancellation of the rest of the regular season. The MLS Cup playoffs began on September 20.

MLS West at the MLS All-Star Game

In 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004, the Major League Soccer All-Star Game was contested between an all-star team from the Western Conference against an all-star team from the Eastern Conference. In total, the MLS West all-star team has 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses against the east.

YearResultScoreSeries
1996Lost2–3East 1–0–0
1997Lost4–5East 2–0–0
1999Won6–4East 2–1–0
2000Lost4–9East 3–1–0
2001Tied6–6East 3–1–1
2004Lost2–3East 4–1–1

References

References

  1. "MLS announces new strategy for Los Angeles market, 2015 conference alignment". Major League Soccer.
  2. (August 20, 2016). "Atlanta to join Eastern Conference in 2017, Minnesota to compete in West". Major League Soccer.
  3. (June 10, 2020). "Nashville SC moves to Eastern Conference for remainder of 2020 season". MLSsoccer.com.
  4. Hills, Drake. (December 8, 2020). "MLS Commissioner: Nashville SC in Eastern Conference next season but spot unknown beyond 2021". Tennessean.
  5. (November 5, 2021). "MLS Announces 2022 Schedule Format & Conference Alignment". MLS Digital.
  6. Hills, Drake. (November 5, 2021). "MLS reassigns Nashville SC to Western Conference for 2022 season. Here's what it means.". Tennessean.
  7. (September 30, 2022). "MLS moving Nashville SC back to Eastern Conference".
  8. Clark, Kelly. (November 26, 2024). "San Diego FC to Begin Play in MLS in 2025".
  9. (December 4, 2021). "Portland Timbers win continues Pacific Northwest dominance of Western Conference titles". MLSsoccer.com.
  10. "Portland Timbers headed to 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League after USSF rule change approved". Major League Soccer.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

western-conference-(mls) 1996-establishments-in-the-united-states
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Western Conference (MLS) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report