About the MLS '96 Cup

Celebrate the Originals

In 1996, Major League Soccer kicked off its inaugural season, introducing ten original clubs that would lay the foundation for the league we know today. Nearly 30 years later, as the league has grown and evolved, we believe it's time to honor that history. The MLS '96 Cup is a fan-led initiative created to "Celebrate the Originals" by tracking the head-to-head results of these founding teams in the modern era, creating a unique, ongoing competition that pays tribute to the league's roots.

Introduction to the Cup

The MLS '96 Cup is a modern analysis of the original 1996 MLS franchises. This project tracks the head-to-head performance of the nine surviving inaugural clubs each season. To ensure a balanced competition, the 1998 expansion champion, Chicago Fire, has been invited to participate.

Competition Format & Rules

The MLS '96 Cup is governed by a set of rules designed to honor the head-to-head legacy of its constituent clubs. The competition is structured as follows:

Determining Conference Champions

• Each season, two independent tables are maintained for the Eastern and Western Conferences.
• Standings are calculated using the results of regular season matches played only between the five teams within each respective conference.
• The team that finishes at the top of its conference table at the conclusion of the MLS regular season is crowned the Conference Champion.

Determining the Overall Champion

• The Overall Champion is decided by a single, decisive match between the Eastern and Western Conference Champions.
• This decisive match is identified by finding the most recent regular season result between the two champions that did not end in a draw.
• If the most recent encounter was a tie, the system will continue to look back at previous matches in chronological order until a definitive winner is found. This unique rule places significant historical weight on every cross-conference matchup.
• The result of this decisive match can be viewed in the "Decisive Matchups" table on the homepage.

The Conferences

Match Selection Criteria

Standings for the MLS '96 Cup are determined exclusively by MLS regular season matches. In seasons with a balanced schedule where teams play each other home and away, all matches are counted. However, in eras with unbalanced schedules that resulted in teams playing three or more times, only the final two encounters are considered to maintain a fair home and away balance.

Table Tie-Breaker Procedure

In the event that two or more teams are tied on points in the conference standings, the following tie-breaking protocol will be applied in sequential order:

1. Head-to-Head Points: Total points earned in matches between the tied teams.
2. Overall Goal Differential: The difference between goals scored and goals conceded in all counted matches.
3. Overall Goals For: Total goals scored in all counted matches.

Enjoy celebrating our 10 remaining teams from 1996 (and 1998) with this competition! Use the year selector on the home page to look at the results for all past seasons!