Friday 6 March 2015 12:29, UK
Do you know the difference between a super-draft and a designated player? How about the Supporters’ Shield and the MLS Cup?
Ahead of the new Major League Soccer season – which kicks off live on Sky Sports this weekend – read our beginner’s guide to the competition…
The format
The MLS consists of 20 teams, 17 based in USA and three in Canada.
New York City FC and Orlando City SC enter the league as ‘expansion’ teams, meaning this will be their first ever season in Major League Soccer. However, they have already recruited top talent, such as David Villa and Kaka.
The 20 teams are split into the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, depending on geography.
Each team will play 34 regular season matches. Clubs will play each team in the opposing conference once for five home and five away matches, each of their nine conference opponents at least twice (one home, one away) and six additional intra-conference games - three home and three away versus different opponents.
Once the season ends the team that finishes top of the overall table will win the Supporters’ Shield.
The top six teams in each conference will then qualify for the MLS Cup. Unlike previous years, the knockout rounds will consist of four single-elimination matches on the road to the MLS Cup final in early December.
The winners of the Cup, the Supporters’ Shield and the play-off finalists will all qualify for the North American Champions League - and have the chance to compete in the Club World Cup.
Designated player
MLS club's are allowed up to three designated players, who exceed the salary cap of $387,500 for an individual, with the rest of their wages paid for by the club rather than the MLS. This rule was invented when David Beckham joined the league in 2007 and Robbie Keane, Kaka and David Villa are among the current designated players.
There is also a young designated player contract that is normally given to those aged 23 and under. These are smaller contributions to the salary cap depending on the player’s age.
The draft system and transfers
There are four main ways that an MLS side will bring a player to their club.
Trading with other MLS sides is one option. Trades can consist of players, draft picks, allocation money or the rights to a player. Each MLS team has a maximum number of international slots and these can also be traded in order to add another foreign player.
Another route is through the draft system. There are three types of drafts, the superdraft, the waiver draft and the re-entry draft.
The superdraft is where young players enter the league from college level. Draft picks are decided on a club’s finishing position in the previous season’s league (with the lowest team getting the first pick). However, a team can trade for a draft pick in order to get higher up the order and therefore potentially sign a better player.
The waiver draft is used for players that clubs were unable to sell.
The re-entry draft allows free agents released by MLS clubs at the end of the season in December to be signed.
Developing youth players through the academy is another method a new player can be added to the squad. These players are signed on to home-grown contracts and do not count towards the salary cap. Only two per team can be signed a season. Tottenham’s DeAndre Yedlin, formerly of Seattle, became the first MLS home-grown player to compete in a World Cup.
The All-Star game
The MLS All-Star game takes place in the summer of every season when a team is made up of a squad consisting of the perceived best players in the league. MLS players, the head coach of the All-Star team for that year, fans and commissioner Don Garber all vote on who should be in the squad. One player is also selected via a video game.
The All-Stars play against one of the world’s premier club sides. For example, last season it was Bayern Munich and the year before that, AS Roma. The match is played in a different venue each year. The 2015 MLS All-Star game - live on Sky Sports - will take place on July 29 in Colorado. The opponent is yet to be announced.
MVP
The term MVP is used a lot in Major League Soccer. It means Most Valuable Player and is given out to the player voted the best in the league by the media, MLS players and club management. Robbie Keane picked up the award last season.
