Everything You Need to Know About the 2023 MLS Season
The 2023 MLS season is just around the corner, and there are a lot of exciting things going on in the league right now! St. Louis City SC officailly joins the league, the Los Angeles FC has an opportunity to go back-to-back, and we may potentially see a finals rematch from last season with Philly. A new playoff format could shake up the league as well. Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming MLS Season!
What Does MLS Stand for?
MLS stands for Major League Soccer. It's the premiere Professional Soccer League in the United States.
How to watch MLS games?
The best way to experience an MLS match is to go to a stadium in person! There's nothing quite like seeing the match up close and experiencing the crowd noise and atmosphere of a soccer match in person. However, we understand this isn't feasible for everyone. Luckily, MLS Fans have a few different options to choose from. In November, MLS and Apple announced a Season Pass available to Apple TV users that will feature every single MLS Regular Season match, the entire playoffs, and the MLS cup with no blackouts. The pass can be purchased on the Apple TV app. For MLS Fans with access to FOX sports, they will be able to catch some games on live television broadcasts. The MLS provides a regular season schedule as well as information regarding where to watch each game.
Who won The MLS Cup in 2022?
The Los Angeles Football Club won the MLS Cup last year. The championship game was decided by penalty kicks after LAFC tied with the Philadelphia Union in an intense 3-3 match. Currently, Los Angeles is favored to repeat and defend their championship, with Philadelphia being favored to again come out of the Eastern Division in a rematch for the MLS Cup.
Are there any new expansion teams? How many teams are there in total?
Yes! In August 2022 the MLS announced its newest expansion team, the St. Louis City Soccer Club. With the addition of St. Louis to the Western Conference, the League has been brought to a total of 29 clubs! 26 representing cities in the United States, and 3 representing cities in Canada. The team will officially compete this upcoming season. You can find your St. Louis SC tickets here.
See Citypark - St. Louis - Soccer events that use this seating chart configuration
When do the 2023 MLS playoffs start?
While the league has provided a full schedule for the Regular Season, the league has not released dates for playoff matches or the date of the MLS Cup final. This would imply that there may be changes coming to the playoff format for the 2023 season, with one report suggesting the league may adopt a "world cup-like" format in which eight teams from each conference qualify into four, four-team groups. After round-robin play, the top two teams in each group would advance to conference semifinals, finals, and then the MLS Cup.
How many regular season games are in the MLS Season?
There are 34 games in the MLS Regular Season. The league is divided into two conferences: Eastern and Western. The current Regular Season format allows for each team to play one home and one away game with every team in their conference as well as one game against all but four or five of the teams in the opposite conference.
How to buy/sell tickets to the 2023 MLS Season?
Football clubs will have single-game and Season tickets on sale on their team website, and private sellers may also have tickets available on resale sites. Here at Event Tickets Center, we have a wide selection of preseason and regular season single-game tickets as well as season tickets. Score yours today!
