A championship format like no other
Like the NBA, MLS is divided into two conferences, West and East, in which 29 teams are divided.
Each team plays two games against teams from its conference and one or two games against teams from the other conference.
This gives a total of 34 games played in the regular season.
Then come the play-offs where the top two from each conference go directly to the final of their respective conference.
The six other qualifiers from each conference meet in single matches according to their ranking to join them in the final.
Finally, the two winners of the conference finals face off in a final match to designate the big winner of the MLS Cup.
Who are the favorites for the title?
Again like the NBA, and unlike the European championships, it is difficult to predict, before the start of the season, the favorite for the title.
Final phase obliges, surprises are recurrent at the end of the season.
But a few teams, with their more talented workforce, stand out.
This is the case of defending champions Los Angeles FC.
But teams like Seattle Sounders, the Philadelphia Union or even Austin could do well. Unless a surprise team makes a splash.
Who are the best players in the league?
If players playing in MLS who join Europe are rare, their number begins to increase.
It is the reflection of a championship which progresses from year to year.
In defense, Kai Wagner, left side who plays in Philadelphia, is part of the best defense in MLS and also knows how to be decisive (9 assists last season).
In midfield, Thiago Almada and Hanny Mukhtar are two of the league's most interesting players to watch.
Both very offensive, these are the X factors of their respective teams (Atlanta and Nashville).
Concerning the attackers, Sebastián Driussi, the top scorer of last season (25 goals), remained in his club of Austin and it will be necessary to count on him.
In the fight to be the top scorer, we could find the
There are 15 French players in MLS
Little known or downright unknown to the general public for the most part, they will be 15 to play in MLS this season.
For some, like Kevin Cabral (23), it's an opportunity to get spotted by leaving for MLS at the start of their career.
For others, it's a career opportunity, like that seized by Arnaud Souquet who left Montpellier to sign a three-year contract with the Chicago Fire.
A championship and a way of life that therefore attract.
There are also former Ligue 1 players: Corentin Jean (Inter Miami), Steven Moreira (Columbus) and Denis Bouanga (LAFC).
Then there are those who build a career on the other side of the Atlantic.
Rudy Camacho had never played as a professional in France when he signed for Montreal in 2018. However, since his arrival,
Read alsoMLS: “soccer takes a much more important place than before” says Rudy Camacho
How to watch MLS in France?
While it was no longer broadcast in recent seasons, the MLS will once again be visible in France.
To be able to watch the exploits of Mukhtar, Driussi or Almada, you will need to subscribe to the MLS Season Pass offered by Apple.
In France, the subscription is available at the price of 13.99 euros per month or 89 euros per season.
By paying 2.5 billion dollars, the tech giant offered itself the rights to broadcast MLS worldwide for a period of 10 years.
The Apple brand therefore makes MLS its gateway to the world of sports broadcasters before aiming higher.
The clubs all have the same budget (or almost)
Each season, MLS gives the same budget to each club in the League to build their squad.
Five million euros in payroll are then used to register the vast majority of players and give everyone the same chances.
But to make a difference, MLS has created three categories of players whose salaries do not count in the “Salary Cap”: stars (3 DP, Designated Player), semi-stars (5 per team) and U23 DP (3 per team).
Rich teams therefore have the option of paying more to attract the best players.
But with the “Salary Cap” system, the gap between rich and less rich is limited.
Read alsoMLS: “the championship has started to bet on youth” underlines Arnaud Souquet, new Chicago player
A new recruitment policy
With David Bechkam, Thierry Henry, Kaka or even Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the MLS has seen many stars pass through its ranks.
But all these players had one thing in common, they were no longer at the peak of their careers.
MLS then looked like a retirement home for European stars.
But that era is over.
In recent seasons, stars in pre-retirement have given way to promising young people.
As confirmed by Arnaud Souquet, who has just joined Chicago, “
it's more and more complicated to enter MLS when you get close to 30 years old.
As they showed at the last World Cup in Qatar, the United States and Canada have seen the arrival of two very promising generations who are progressing through playing in MLS.
Still (very) far from the NBA, a popularity that is struggling to explode
Created in 2006, the MLS is a young championship which is still very far from the level of popularity and enthusiasm of the NBA.
While stadium attendance is stabilizing at around 20,000 spectators, television viewership for matches has increased slightly in recent seasons.
Less numerous, it is no longer the European stars that attract viewers but the clubs themselves.
However, the audience figures for the MLS Finals are still minimal compared to those of the NBA Finals (2.2 million for the 2022 Finals compared to around ten million each year for the NBA Finals).
With the approach of the 2026 World Cup organized on its territory, the MLS and the United States should strengthen communication around soccer to gain popularity.