The Eastern Conference () is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Western 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 east of the river in the Eastern Conference.

As of 2023, the Eastern Conference contains 15 teams. The conference has produced 17 Supporters' Shield champions and 12 MLS Cup winners in Major League Soccer's first 30 seasons. In 2000 and 2001, the conference was referred to as the Eastern Division when Major League Soccer briefly reorganized into three divisions.

2026 standings

Members

Current Team City Stadium Atlanta United FC Atlanta, Georgia Mercedes-Benz Stadium Charlotte FC Charlotte, North Carolina Bank of America Stadium Chicago Fire FC Chicago, Illinois Soldier Field Columbus Crew Columbus, Ohio ScottsMiracle-Gro Field FC Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio TQL Stadium D.C. United Washington, D.C. Audi Field Inter Miami CF Fort Lauderdale, Florida Chase Stadium CF Montréal Montreal, Quebec Saputo Stadium Nashville SC Nashville, Tennessee Geodis Park New England Revolution Foxborough, Massachusetts Gillette Stadium New York City FC New York City, New York Yankee Stadium New York Red Bulls Harrison, New Jersey Sports Illustrated Stadium Orlando City SC Orlando, Florida Inter.co Stadium Philadelphia Union Chester, Pennsylvania Subaru Park Toronto FC Toronto, Ontario BMO Field

Timeline

Conference lineups by year

1996–97 (5 teams)

Changes from 1995: Creation of the Major League Soccer.

1998–99 (6 teams)

Changes from 1997: New York/New Jersey MetroStars simplified their name to New York MetroStars; the Miami Fusion were added in the 1998 expansion.

2000–01 (as Eastern Division) (4 teams)

Changes from 1999: The Eastern Conference changed its name to Eastern Division with the creation of the Central Division; the Columbus Crew and the Tampa Bay Mutiny moved to the new division.

2002–04 (5 teams)

Changes from 2001: The Eastern Division changed back its name to Eastern Conference following the contraction of the Miami Fusion and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, resulting in the disbanding of the Central Division; Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew moved in from the Central Division

2005 (6 teams)

Changes from 2004: Kansas City Wizards moved in from the Western Conference.

2006 (6 teams)

Changes from 2005: The New York MetroStars were bought by Red Bull and changed their name to New York Red Bulls.

2007–09 (7 teams)

Changes from 2006: Toronto FC was added in the 2007 expansion.

2010 (8 teams)

Changes from 2009: Philadelphia Union was added in the 2010 expansion.

2011 (9 teams)

Changes from 2010: The Kansas City Wizards changed their name to Sporting Kansas City; Houston Dynamo moved in from the Western Conference.

2012–14 (10 teams)

Changes from 2011: Montreal Impact was added in the 2012 expansion.

2015–16 (10 teams)

Changes from 2014: New York City FC and Orlando City SC were added as expansion franchises; Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo moved out to the Western Conference; Columbus Crew adds "SC" to the official team name.

2017–18 (11 teams)

Changes from 2016: Atlanta United FC was added in the 2017 expansion.

2019 (12 teams)

Changes from 2018: FC Cincinnati was added in the 2019 expansion.

2020 (14 teams)

Changes from 2019: Inter Miami CF was added in the 2020 expansion, Nashville SC was added since the MLS is Back Tournament up to the end of the 2020 season; Chicago Fire SC was renamed Chicago Fire FC.

2021 (14 teams)

Changes from 2020: Nashville SC moved in from the Western Conference; the Montreal Impact was renamed Club de Foot Montréal. Columbus Crew SC was briefly renamed to Columbus SC and then to Columbus Crew.

2022 (14 teams)

Changes from 2021: Charlotte FC was added as a then-unnamed expansion franchise in 2019, with its first season initially set for 2021 but delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nashville SC moved back to the Western Conference.

2023–26 (15 teams)

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

Eastern 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 moved 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 are used if necessary, although away goals did not apply in extra time. In 2019, the playoffs returned to a single match format (including the conference finals), hosted by the higher ranked team through the regular season.

BoldMLS Cup champions Season Champions Score Runners-up1996D.C. United2 matches to 0Tampa Bay Mutiny1997D.C. United2 matches to 0Columbus Crew1998D.C. United2 matches to 1Columbus Crew1999D.C. United2 matches to 1Columbus Crew2000No conference playoffs2001No conference playoffs2002No conference playoffs2003Chicago Fire1–0 New England Revolution2004D.C. United3–3 (4–3 p)New England Revolution2005New England Revolution1–0Chicago Fire2006New England Revolution1–0D.C. United2007New England Revolution1–0Chicago Fire2008Columbus Crew2–1Chicago Fire2009Real Salt LakeW0–0 (5–4 p)Chicago Fire2010Colorado RapidsW1–0San Jose EarthquakesW2011Houston Dynamo2–0Sporting Kansas City2012Houston Dynamo4–2 agg.D.C. United2013Sporting Kansas City2–1 agg.Houston Dynamo2014New England Revolution4–3 agg.New York Red Bulls2015Columbus Crew SC2–1 agg.New York Red Bulls2016Toronto FC7–5 agg. Montreal Impact2017Toronto FC1–0 agg.Columbus Crew SC2018Atlanta United FC 3–1 agg.New York Red Bulls2019Toronto FC2–1Atlanta United FC2020Columbus Crew SC1–0New England Revolution2021New York City FC2–1Philadelphia Union2022Philadelphia Union3–1New York City FC2023Columbus Crew3–2 FC Cincinnati2024New York Red Bulls1–0Orlando City SC2025Inter Miami CF5–1New York City FC W – Western Conference team.

Eastern Conference regular season champions by year

No trophy is awarded for leading the conference standings at the end of the regular season, unless the regular season leader also wins the Supporters' Shield. The winner of the Conference play-offs is considered the Conference champion. Since 2013, the winner of each conference has qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Three clubs have topped the Eastern Conference standings at the end of the regular season, won the Supporters' Shield, the Eastern Conference (MLS) and the MLS Cup; D.C. United, twice, Columbus Crew and Toronto FC. Toronto in 2017 also won the Canadian Championship, being the only MLS team to therefore take a clean sweep of all titles available to them. also won Supporters' ShieldItalicalso won Eastern Conference play off finalBoldalso won MLS Cup Season Team Record (W–L–T) (GD) Playoffs result1996Tampa Bay Mutiny (+15)Lost conference finals1997D.C. United 21–11–0^ (+17)Won MLS Cup1998D.C. United24–8–0^ (+30)Lost MLS Cup1999D.C. United 23–9–0^ (+22)Won MLS Cup2000MetroStars17–12–3 (+8)Lost Semifinals2001Miami Fusion† 16–5–5 (+21)Lost Semifinals2002New England Revolution12–14–2 (0)Lost MLS Cup2003Chicago Fire 15–7–8 (+10)Lost conference finals2004Columbus Crew 12–5–13 (+8)Lost conference semifinals2005New England Revolution17–7–8 (+18)Lost MLS Cup2006D.C. United 15–7–10 (+14)Lost conference finals2007D.C. United 16–7–7 (+22)Lost conference semifinals2008Columbus Crew 17–7–6 (+14)Won MLS Cup2009Columbus Crew 13–7–10 (+10)Lost conference semifinals2010New York Red Bulls15–9–6 (+9)Lost conference semifinals2011Sporting Kansas City13–9–12 (+10)Lost conference finals2012Sporting Kansas City18–7–9 (+15)Lost conference semifinals2013New York Red Bulls 17–9–8 (+17)Lost conference semifinals2014D.C. United17–9–8 (+15)Lost conference semifinals2015New York Red Bulls18–10–6 (+19)Lost conference finals2016New York Red Bulls16–9–9 (+17)Lost conference semifinals2017Toronto FC20–5–9 (+37)Won MLS Cup2018New York Red Bulls22–7–5 (+29)Lost conference finals2019New York City FC18–6–10 (+21)Lost conference semifinals2020Philadelphia Union 14–4–5 (+24)Lost first round2021New England Revolution 22–5–7 (+24)Lost conference semifinals2022Philadelphia Union19–5–10 (+46)Lost MLS Cup2023FC Cincinnati 20–5–9 (+18)Lost conference finals2024Inter Miami CF 22–4–8 (+30)Lost first round2025Philadelphia Union 20–8–6 (+22)Lost conference semifinals

^ – MLS did not have draws until the 2000 season. † – Miami Fusion were declared winners of the Eastern 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 East 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 Eastern Conference and an all-star team from the Western Conference. In total, the MLS East all-star team has 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss against the west.

+Yearly resultsYearResultScoreSeries1996Won3–2East 1–0–01997Won5–4East 2–0–01999Lost4–6East 2–1–02000Won9–4East 3–1–02001Tied6–6East 3–1–12004Won3–2East 4–1–1

See also Western Conference (MLS) Central Division (MLS)

References

External links Complete MLS History