MLS Tickets

Major League Soccer offers something distinct from the other North American leagues: continuous halves, organised supporter culture and a growing set of purpose-built stadiums in the middle of their cities.

OriginalTickets is organised the way supporters think - by club, by stadium, by city. Once approved live provider inventory is connected, verified matches with their dates, venues, availability and all-in totals can appear alongside this reference material.

Start with the MLS section, the wider sports section or Discover.

Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It began play in 1996, in the years immediately after the United States hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and has grown steadily from a small founding group of clubs into a league spread across both countries.

The league currently fields 30 clubs, divided evenly between the Eastern and Western Conferences with 15 in each. San Diego FC is among that current group.

Season structure - how many matches clubs play, when the season runs and how the playoffs are seeded - is set league-year by league-year, and MLS is in the middle of a significant calendar change. Those details are kept in the clearly dated sections below rather than described here as permanent rules.

**This section describes the 2026 season specifically and will be revised.**

In 2026 each club plays 34 regular-season matches - 17 at home and 17 away. Every club meets each of its 14 conference opponents twice, home and away, which accounts for 28 of those matches, and plays six different cross-conference opponents to complete the schedule.

The 2026 regular season opened on February 21 and concludes on Decision Day, November 7. The calendar also included a pause for the FIFA World Cup, from May 25 to July 16.

We publish no standings, results or fixtures here. Verified matches appear only once approved live provider inventory is connected.

**Eastern Conference** - Atlanta United FC, Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire FC, FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, Inter Miami CF, CF Montréal, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, Toronto FC.

**Western Conference** - 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.

Each club links to its permanent OriginalTickets team page, where you can explore the club and, once verified live inventory exists, its upcoming matches.

A soccer match day has its own rhythm. Play runs in two continuous 45-minute halves, so there are no frequent stoppages to move around in - most supporters settle in and stay put. Organised supporter groups usually occupy a designated section behind one goal, where singing, drums and flags carry through the match and set the tone for the whole ground.

Venues vary widely. Some clubs play in soccer-specific stadiums built close to the pitch, where the seating bowl feels compact and the noise stays inside; others use larger multipurpose stadiums shared with other sports, where the lower rows can sit further from the touchline. Most matches are outdoors, so weather is part of the plan, and location matters too: some grounds sit in walkable downtown districts with transit at the door, others are reached mainly by car.

Layouts, entry rules and facilities are set by each club and venue, so confirm specifics with them. Stadiums with pages on OriginalTickets include Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.

Each area of a soccer stadium offers a different match day. The notes below are general - layouts, sightlines, policies and facilities vary by club and venue, so check before buying.

What soccer tickets cost on a given day depends on a mix of factors: which clubs are meeting, whether the fixture carries rivalry history, interest in particular squads or high-profile signings, the stadium itself, where a seat sits, weekend versus weekday, how strong local demand is, how the club is performing, whether playoff position is in play, whether the match is part of a special competition, and how much inventory remains as the date approaches.

No universal rule applies. Waiting does not reliably lower soccer ticket prices and does not reliably raise them - a quiet midweek fixture and a marquee derby can move in opposite directions.

We publish no example prices anywhere on this page. Any figure on OriginalTickets comes from verified provider inventory attached to a real match and is shown as an all-in total including fees. See what the all-in price includes.

Rivalry in MLS grows from geography and shared history as much as from the table. Clubs in the same metropolitan area, neighbouring cities along a regional corridor, and sides that have met repeatedly in the playoffs all bring an added charge, amplified by supporter groups who plan for those dates well ahead.

Established examples supporters often point to include LA Galaxy against Los Angeles FC, known as El Tráfico; Portland Timbers against Seattle Sounders FC in the Pacific Northwest; and New York City FC against the New York Red Bulls. Regional pairings such as Chicago Fire FC and FC Cincinnati against Columbus Crew carry their own histories.

These are long-running rivalries, not scheduled fixtures - nothing here implies a particular match exists. Matches with playoff consequences late in a season can draw comparable interest regardless of history.

**This section describes the 2026 playoff format specifically and will be revised.**

Under the 2026 format, the top nine clubs in each conference reach the postseason. The eighth and ninth seeds meet in a single-game Wild Card match, and the winner joins the top seven to form an eight-club bracket in each conference.

Round One is decided by a best-of-three series. The Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals are single-elimination, and the Eastern and Western champions then meet in MLS Cup, scheduled for December 18, 2026.

We name no qualifiers, seeds, hosts or prices. Postseason demand and availability can differ from regular-season matches, and any postseason match shown here will come only from verified live provider inventory.

MLS has announced a structural change to when its seasons run, so the format described above should not be read as permanent.

A transition competition called the Sprint Season is planned for 2027: an announced 14 regular-season matches played from February to April, followed by playoffs in May.

From summer 2027, MLS moves to a summer-to-spring calendar, with a break in midwinter. That aligns the league season across the turn of the calendar year rather than within it.

This section reflects officially announced information only. We are not publishing projected fixtures, opponents, dates or ticket timelines for the new calendar - those will appear only as verified inventory becomes available.

A short checklist makes a match day easier:

- Confirm the match date and kickoff time; start times vary by club and day of week. - Check the stadium's entry, bag and banner policies in advance - these differ by venue. - Have mobile tickets loaded and your phone charged before you set off. - If you are considering a supporters' section, check that section's specific rules first, including standing expectations. - Plan parking or transit early; stadium access varies widely by city. - Check the forecast, since most matches are played outdoors. - Allow time for security screening and for finding your seats. - Remember the match runs as two 45-minute halves plus stoppage time, and knockout matches in some competitions may involve additional procedures to decide a winner.

Policies and timings are set by each club and venue, so treat their official information as the authority. To orient yourself, browse venues and cities, or read how to search events.

Major League Soccer grew directly out of the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, which left behind both an audience and an obligation to establish a durable top-flight league. MLS began play in 1996 with ten clubs.

The first match was played on April 6, 1996, when the San Jose Clash met D.C. United at Spartan Stadium. San Jose won 1-0, and Eric Wynalda scored the league's first goal. D.C. United went on to win the inaugural MLS Cup that year.

From that small start the league expanded steadily across the United States and Canada, adding markets, building soccer-specific stadiums and developing the supporter culture visible in grounds today. The 2026 league comprises 30 clubs.

The change now underway is structural rather than geographic: the announced 2027 Sprint Season and the subsequent move to a summer-to-spring calendar mark another significant shift in how the league is organised.

Common questions about the league and about browsing soccer on OriginalTickets.