| Eastern Conference | |
| Pixels: | 150px |
| Sport: | Soccer |
| Founded: | 1996 |
| Teams: | 15 |
| Champion: | Columbus Crew (2023) (3rd title) |
| Most Champs: | D.C. United (4 titles) |
The Eastern Conference (French: Association de l'Est) is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Western Conference. As of 2023, the division of the Conferences broadly follows the path of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, with clubs east of the River in the Eastern Conference.
As of 2023, the Eastern Conference contains fifteen teams. The conference has produced seventeen Supporters' Shield champions and eleven MLS Cup winners in Major League Soccer's first 28 seasons. In 2000 and 2001, the conference was referred to as the Eastern Division when Major League Soccer briefly reorganized into three divisions.
| Team | City | Stadium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta United FC | Atlanta, Georgia | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | |
| Charlotte FC | Charlotte, North Carolina | Bank of America Stadium | |
| Chicago Fire FC | Chicago, Illinois | Soldier Field | |
| Columbus Crew | Columbus, Ohio | Lower.com Field | |
| FC Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | TQL Stadium | |
| D.C. United | Washington, D.C. | Audi Field | |
| Inter Miami CF | Miami, Florida | DRV PNK Stadium | |
| CF Montréal | Montreal, Quebec | Saputo Stadium | |
| Nashville SC | Nashville, Tennessee | Geodis Park | |
| New England Revolution | Foxborough, Massachusetts | Gillette Stadium | |
| New York City FC | New York City, New York | Yankee Stadium | |
| New York Red Bulls | Harrison, New Jersey | Red Bull Arena | |
| Orlando City SC | Orlando, Florida | Exploria Stadium | |
| Philadelphia Union | Chester, Pennsylvania | Subaru Park | |
| Toronto FC | Toronto, Ontario | BMO Field |
PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Eastern from:1996 till:2000 text:Columbus Crew (1996–1999) bar:1 color:Central from:2000 till:2002 width:8 text: bar:1 color:Eastern from:2002 till:end text:Columbus Crew (2002–present)
bar:2 color:Eastern from:1996 till:end text:D.C. United (1996–present)
bar:3 color:Eastern from:1996 till:end text:New England Revolution (1996–present)
bar:4 color:Eastern from:1996 till:end text:New York Red Bulls (1996–present)
bar:5 color:Eastern from:1996 till:2000 text:Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996–1999) bar:5 color:Central from:2000 till:2002 width:8 text:
bar:6 color:Eastern from:1998 till:2002 text:Miami Fusion (1998–2001)
bar:7 color:Western from:1998 till:2000 width:8 text: bar:7 color:Central from:2000 till:2002 width:8 text: bar:7 color:Eastern from:2002 till:end text:Chicago Fire (2002–present)
bar:8 color:Western from:1996 till:2005 width:8 text: bar:8 color:Eastern from:2005 till:2015 text:Sporting Kansas City (2005–2014) bar:8 color:Western from:2015 till:end width:8 text:
bar:9 color:Eastern from:2007 till:end text:Toronto FC (2007–present)
bar:10 color:Eastern from:2010 till:end text:Philadelphia Union (2010–present)
bar:11 color:Western from:2006 till:2011 width:8 text: bar:11 color:Eastern from:2011 till:2015 text:Houston Dynamo (2011–2014) bar:11 color:Western from:2015 till:end width:8 text:
bar:12 color:Eastern from:2012 till:end text:CF Montréal (2012–present)
bar:13 color:Eastern from:2015 till:end text:New York City FC (2015–present)
bar:14 color:Eastern from:2015 till:end text:Orlando City SC (2015–present)
bar:15 color:Eastern from:2017 till:end text:Atlanta United FC (2017–present)
bar:16 color:Eastern from:2019 till:end text:FC Cincinnati (2019–present)
bar:17 color:Eastern from:2020 till:end text:Inter Miami FC (2020–present)
bar:18 color:Eastern from:2020 till:2022 text:Nashville SC (2020–2021;2023-present) bar:18 color:Western from:2022 till:2023 width:8 text: bar:18 color:Eastern from:2023 till:end text:
bar:19 color:Eastern from:2022 till:end text:Charlotte FC (2022–present)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:4 start:1996TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:
Changes from 1995: Creation of the Major League Soccer.
Changes from 1997: New York/New Jersey MetroStars simplified their name to New York MetroStars; the Miami Fusion were added in the 1998 expansion.
Changes from 1999: The Eastern Conference changed its name to Eastern Division with the creation of the Central Division; the Columbus Crew and the Tampa Bay Mutiny moved to the new division.
Changes from 2001: The Eastern Division changed back its name to Eastern Conference following the contraction of the Miami Fusion and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, resulting in the disbanding of the Central Division; Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew moved in from the Central Division
Changes from 2004: Kansas City Wizards moved in from the Western Conference
Changes from 2005: The New York MetroStars were bought by Red Bull and changed their name to New York Red Bulls.
Changes from 2006: Toronto FC was added as an expansion franchise.
Changes from 2009: The Philadelphia Union was added as an expansion franchise.
Changes from 2010: The Kansas City Wizards changed their name to Sporting Kansas City; Houston Dynamo moved in from the Western Conference.
Changes from 2011: The Montreal Impact was added as an expansion franchise
Changes from 2014: New York City FC and Orlando City SC were added as expansion franchises; Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo moved out to the Western Conference;[1] Columbus Crew adds "SC" to the official team name.
Changes from 2016: Atlanta United FC was added as an expansion franchise.[2]
Changes from 2018: FC Cincinnati was added as an expansion franchise.[3]
Changes from 2019: Inter Miami CF was added as an expansion franchise;[4] Nashville SC was added since the MLS is Back Tournament up to the end of the 2020 season;[5] Chicago Fire SC was renamed Chicago Fire FC.
Changes from 2020: Nashville SC moved in from the Western Conference;[6] theMontreal Impact was renamed Club de Foot Montréal. Columbus Crew SC was briefly renamed to Columbus SC and then to Columbus Crew.
Changes from 2021: Charlotte FC was added as a then-unnamed expansion franchise in 2019, with its first season initially set for 2021[7] but delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] Nashville SC moved back to the Western Conference.[9] [10]
Changes from 2022: Nashville SC was moved back to the Eastern Conference as expansion side St. Louis City SC was added to the Western Conference.[11]
Note: The conference finals were a best-of-three series through 2001 (including the MLS semifinals in 2000 and 2001, when a conference playoff format was not used). Matches tied after regulation were decided by a shoot-out. In 2002, a similar format was used except that draws were allowed and the team earning the most points advanced. From 2003 through 2011, the Finals were a single match. Matches tied after regulation moved to extra time (Golden goal extra time was implemented for 2003 only), then a shoot-out if necessary. Beginning in 2012, the finals were a two-match aggregate series. The away goals rule for series that finished even on aggregate was first implemented in 2014. Extra time and shoot-outs are used if necessary, although away goals did not apply in extra time. In 2019, the playoffs returned to a single match format (including the conference finals), hosted by the higher ranked team through the regular season.
No trophy is awarded for leading the conference standings at the end of the regular season, unless the regular season leader also wins the Supporters' Shield. The winner of the Conference play-offs is considered the Conference champion. Three clubs have topped the Eastern Conference standings at the end of the regular season, won the Supporters' Shield, the Eastern Conference (MLS) and the MLS Cup; D.C. United, twice, Columbus Crew and Toronto FC. Toronto in 2017 also won the Canadian Championship, being the only MLS team to therefore take a clean sweep of all titles available to them.
| also won Supporters' Shield | ||
| Italic | also won Eastern Conference play off final | |
| Bold | also won MLS Cup |
^ – MLS did not have draws until the 2000 season.
† – Miami Fusion were declared winners of the Eastern Division in 2001 after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks forced the cancellation of the rest of the regular season. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 20.
In 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004, the Major League Soccer All-Star Game was contested between an all-star team from the Eastern Conference and an all-star team from the Western Conference. In total, the MLS East all-star team has 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss against the west.
| 1996 | Won | 3–2 | East 1–0–0 |
| 1997 | Won | 5–4 | East 2–0–0 |
| 1999 | Lost | 4–6 | East 2–1–0 |
| 2000 | Won | 9–4 | East 3–1–0 |
| 2001 | Tied | 6–6 | East 3–1–1 |
| 2004 | Won | 3–2 | East 4–1–1 |