2010 Major League Soccer Season - Competition Format

Competition Format

The format for the 2010 season will be as follows:

• The season began on March 25 and will end on November 21 with MLS Cup 2010.
• The 16 teams were split evenly into two conferences. The Eastern Conference has eight teams with the addition of the Philadelphia Union, and the Western Conference also has eight teams. For the first time in league history, the season will have a balanced schedule where each team will play every other team in the league once at home and once away for a total of 30 games.
• Games were not played during the group stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The last MLS game prior to the World Cup was played on June 10, with no games scheduled until after the group stage concluded on June 25.
• The two teams in each conference with the most points will qualify for the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs. In addition, the next four highest ranked teams, regardless of conference, will also qualify. Teams will be bracketed by conference, with the lowest ranked teams crossing over to the other conference if necessary. In the Conference Semifinals, aggregate goals over two matches will determine the winners. The Conference Finals will be played as single matches, and the winners will advance to MLS Cup 2010. After the completion of any round, ties will be broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by a penalty kick shootout if necessary. The away goals rule will not be used in any round.
• The team with the most points in the regular season wins the MLS Supporters' Shield and will qualify directly into the Group Stage of the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League. The MLS Cup Winner also qualifies for the Champions League Group Stage. The MLS Cup Runners-Up and the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Winners qualify for the Preliminary Round of the Champions League. If a team qualifies for multiple berths into the Champions League, then additional berths will be awarded to the highest-placed team(s) in the 2010 MLS regular season's overall standings that have not already qualified.
• The four teams with the most points, regardless of conference, who have not qualified for the Champions League will qualify for the SuperLiga 2011.
• The six U.S.-based teams with the most points, regardless of conference, will qualify for the Third round of the 2011 U.S. Open Cup. The remaining U.S.-based MLS teams will have to qualify for the remaining two berths via a series of play-in games.
• As a Canadian-based team, Toronto FC cannot qualify for the Champions League through MLS, and cannot enter the U.S. Open Cup. In either case, any berth in the Champions League or U.S. Open Cup that it would have earned by its league position is awarded to the highest-placed team in the overall standings which has not already qualified. TFC may instead qualify for the Champions League through the Canadian Championship.