Historical Football Kits

Major League Soccer 2009

Major League Soccer (MLS) is the top-flight, professional soccer (association football) competition in North America. Founded in 1993 as part of the USA's successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the competition began in 1996 with ten teams. The MLS is organised on the American franchise model, which also operates in the national American Football and Baseball Leagues.

The policy of the MLS is to encourage the building of "soccer specific" stadia and diversify ownership, which was initially limited. Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), for example, owned six of the ten original franchises. Franchises may be re-allocated to new cities at the discretion of the MLS commissioners. There are now 14 owners for the 16 franchised teams and plans exist to expand to 18 teams by 2011. Adidas currently hold the contract to supply and market replica kits for all MLS teams.

MLS is organised into Eastern and Western Conferences: teams play each other twice, home and away with additional games organised within each conference to bring the total to 30 games. The best eight teams then compete in national play-offs, the Conference champions receiving home advantage. The team winning the play-off final (the MLS Cup) become the league champions while the team with the best overall record (ie who would have been champions in a conventional league structure) are awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. The season runs from April to November.

Note: Graphics are based on information supplied by Adidas in February 2009, at which time stocking were not available. These will be revised if and when further details are made available. Contact HFK if you have corrections.

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Chicago Fire (Eastern Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Best Buy Co.

Having competed in ten MLS seasons, The Fire are one of the United States' leading teams, having won one MLS Cup, one MLS Supporters' Shield, three Conference championships and four Lamar Hunt US Open Cups. After leading a nomadic existence for several seasons, Chicago moved into their current home, Toyota Park in June 2006, which seats 20,000. As well as being a "soccer specific" stadium, Toyota Park hosts concerts and community events.

The franchise is currently owned by the Los Angeles based Andell Holdings PLC, who bought it from AEG in August 2007.

Part of the north section of the ground is reserved for ultra supporters' groups who are noted for their choreographed tifo displays. This area is known as Section 8, a term used in the US military to designate mentally unfit personnel. Their umbrella group, Section 8 Chicago is recognised by the State of Illinois as a non-profit organisation.

Chivas USA (Western Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Comex

Club Deportivo Chivas USA was formed in August 2004 as the sister club of Mexican team CD Guadalajara, popularly known as Chivas (Goats) in Spanish. The venture was a deliberate attempt to capture the support of the large Mexican-American population of Los Angeles and Chivas share The Home Depot Center with LA Galaxy. Chivas seeks to celebrate and provide a focus for the Hispanic community of Southern California and is active through its non-profit organisation, Fundación Chivas de Corazón USA.

Chivas USA were Western Conference champions in 2007.

The team's colours are similar to those of CD Guadalajara and the franchise is owned by the same consortium as the Mexican club.

Colorado Rapids (Western Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor:

Charter (founder) members of the MLS, Colorado finished bottom of the Western Conference in their inaugural season. In fact they have enjoyed little success, reaching the final of the MLS Cup in 1997 and the US Open Cup in 1999, but losing on both occasions.

The team play in Commerce City, a suburb of Denver and have been rebranded twice. The most recent was in 2007, when they adopted their current colours and badge and moved into a new ground, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a state-of-the-art soccer complex with 24 fully-lit pitches of professional standard as well as the 18,800 main stadium. The team are in partnership with Arsenal FC, sharing expertise in coaching, player development and mutual promotion.

The ground and team are owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE), part of Stan Kroenke's extensive sports empire, which includes a 9.9% stake in Arsenal Holdings PLC as well as Colorado's professional ice hockey, basketball, arena football and lacrosse teams. The burgundy, sky blue and grey colours are KSE's corporate livery.

Columbus Crew (Eastern Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Glidden

Columbus Crew, from the capital of the State of Ohio, are one of the ten founders of MLS, the first franchise to build a soccer-specific stadium, imaginatively called the Columbus Crew Stadium and completed in time for the 1999 season. The Crew have won three major trophies; the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (2002) and a "double" of MLS Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup in 2008.

There are three recognised supporters' groups, the Crew Supporters' Union, the Hudson Street Hooligans and La Turbina Amarilla. Until recently these groups have occupied different sections of the north stands but, following the demolition of the section behind the goal to make way for a stage (to generate additional revenue from concerts), they have come together in the north-east corner, known as the Nordecke in recognition of the city's German heritage.

DC United (Eastern Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Volkswagen

DC United are from the United States' capital and were members of the original MLS in 1996. They are the most successful team in the history of professional league soccer in the US, having won four MLS Cups, four MLS Supporters' Shields, the US Open Cup (twice) and in 1998 the CONCACEF Champions Cup and Copa Interamericana to earn the title "Champion of the Americas".

The "Black and Red" currently play in the 56,000 seat RFK Stadium, which was previously the home of NFL side, Washington Redskins, the Washington Senators Major League baseball team and the national soccer team. Plans to build a stadium of their own within the District of Columbia have foundered and are now focussed on a 24,000-seat purpose built stadium in neighbouring Prince George's County in Maryland.

The consortium that bought the franchise from Anschutz Entertainment Group for a record $33m is controlled by Victor MacFarlane, Brian Davis and William HC Chang, the first ethnic-minority owners of an MLS franchise. DC United run a large number community programmes that support a wide range of neighbourhood groups and disadvantaged young people.

FC Dallas (Western Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor:

Charter members of MLS (as Dallas Burn), the team was rebranded in 2004 and has played in patriotic red, white and blue as FC Dallas ever since. They moved into Pizza Hut Park in August 2005, which is situated in and owned by the City of Frisco, a northern suburb of Dallas. The ground is at the centre of a 17-pitch soccer complex and can also be used to stage concerts. Dallas have won the US Open Cup once (1997).

The team are known as "The Hoops," at least by their PR Department who feel it necessary to explain, on their website, that this refers to the horizontal stripes on the team's shirts. In order to attract the large Mexican and Hispanic communities, Dallas have created a partnership with Mexican team, Universidad Autonoma de Nueva Leon and Brazilian side Paranaense and play them in an annual home-and-away series as well as sharing coaching practices.

Dallas are currently owned by the Hunt Sports Group, founded by Lamar Hunt, a sports promoter and founder of the MLS, the American Football League (AFL) and the predecessor of the MLS, the NASL. Hunt died in 2003 and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is named in his honour.

Houston Dynamo (Western Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Amigo Energy

Formed in 2005, Houston previously played as San Jose Earthquakes and moved to Texas because they could not secure a soccer-specific stadium. Although the team moved with all its playing staff and management, they were treated as a new franchise and were not allowed to carry their previous records with them.

Houston won back-to-back MLS Cup Championships in their first two seasons in the competition.They play in the Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston campus but are seeking to build a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Houston. The club is owned by a partnership of AEG, Brener International Group and Oscar de la Hoya, Olympic gold medallist and winner of ten boxing world titles.

Kansas City Wizards (Eastern Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor:

Kansas are one of the ten charter members of MLS and they were originally known as Kansas City Wiz but were required to change this in a copyright dispute. The team have won the MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield in 2000 and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2004. The club was sold by Lamar Hunt in 2006 to a Kansas-based consortium.

The Wizards played until 2007 at the Arrowhead Stadium, home of NFL team, Kansas City Chiefs and are currently sharing a baseball stadium with the Kansas City T-Bones. The management has been seeking a site to develop a soccer-specific stadium to comply with MLS policy and in 2008 the Missouri state legislature approved a $30m tax credit package that will allow a major redevelopment on the site of two vacant malls. The site will feature retail, office and residential areas as well as a soccer complex and is expected to be completed in 2010, although the current recession may impact on these plans.

Los Angeles Galaxy (Western Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Herbalife

LA Galaxy's name was chosen to reflect the association of Los Angeles with Hollywood stars in contrast to their local rivals, Chivas USA whose identity is closely linked to the rather less glamorous Mexican-American community. The two teams share the Home Depot Center in the suburb of Carson. Galaxy have won the US Open Cup twice (2001, 2005), the MLS Cup twice (2002, 2005), the MLS Supporters' Shield twice (1998, 2002) and the CONCACEF Champions' League once (2000).

The transfer of David Beckham from Real Madrid to LA Galaxy in 2007 made the team a household name in the UK and the sale of replica shirts rocketed while attendances soared, to the extent that the Galaxy were the best supported side in MLS during 2007. The arrival Ruud Gullitt as coach last season added to the teams' glamour but performance on the field have not improved. Galaxy have failed to qualify for the play-offs since 2006 and it now seems that Beckham would rather play out his career in Milan than LA. The future of the team may well depend on where Posh Spice prefers to shop.

New England Revolution (Eastern Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor:

"The Revs" are based in Foxburgh, Massachusetts but are named to draw support from throughout New England. They are owned by Robert Kraft who also owns the NFL New England Patriots team. (The names of both sides reflect New England's involvement in the American Revolution of 1776.) The team wears the national colours of navy blue, red and white.

In 2007, New England Revolution won the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, their first major honour, although they have come close a number of times, appearing in four MLS Cup finals and reaching the final of the 2001 US Open Cup.

New York Red Bulls (Eastern Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Red Bull

Charter members of the MLS as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, the team were known simply as the MetroStars between 1998 and 2006. After the franchise was sold to Red Bull GmbH in 2006 the team was renamed as the New York Red Bulls. Despite its name, the team is based in New Jersey and shares the enormous Giants Stadium with the NY Giants NFL team. The team is planning to move into a new 25,000 seat stadium in Harrison, NJ in 2009.

Following the purchase of the franchise by Red Bull the team was given a thorough makeover, including new playing kit and crest but the team's performances have remained indifferent. In keeping with Red Bull's aggressive sports sponsorship policy, the company brand completely dominates the teams identity.

Real Salt Lake (Western Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: XanGo

On the face of it, the capital city of the State of Utah and centre of the Mormon religion has little connection with Spain. Nevertheless, the founders of the Salt Lake MLS franchise determined to use the prefix Real, to associate the team with the successful Spanish clubs that carry this name (which translates as "royal"), most notably Real Madrid. The team joined the MLS in 2005 and, after various difficulties were overcome, the soccer-specific Rio Tinto Stadium was opened in October 2008 in Sandy, Utah. Like other purpose built stadia, Rio Tinto has facilities to host concerts to generate extra revenue and boasts a playing surface "laser-graded to 1/100th of an inch across 105,000 square feet" planted with turf that is both "chemically and organically" developed for the high desert climate.

In 2006 Salt Lake entered into partnership with Real Madrid to create a youth academy as part of the MLS drive to develop of youth talent.

The team play in a kit that is very similar to that worn by the Spanish national team.

San Jose Earthquakes (Western Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Amway Global

As San Jose Clash this team were charter members of MLS. In 1999 the franchises' official name was changed to San Jose Earthquakes, the name of the original NASL team with which the franchise had tenuous links. They won two MLS Cups within three years but in December 2005 the team's management announced they were moving the to Texas to become Houston Dynamo.

The MLS retained the San Jose franchise and in May 2006 a deal was negotiated to develop a soccer-specific stadium in the San Francisco Bay area. One of the principal investors, Lew Wolff exercised his option to purchase the new expansion team and, under the rules of MLS, the new incarnation of San Jose Earthquakes inherited the record of the original team.

The new stadium is now in development and scheduled for completion between 2010 and 2011, recession permitting: meanwhile home games are played at the Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara while larger attendances are catered for at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Seattle Sounders (Western Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Microsoft

The Sounders are the latest team to join MLS and will compete for the first time in 2009, following the award of the franchise in 2007. Their name was chosen by supporters and links the team to the NASL and USL teams with the same title (although that is the only link between the three). Although this was not one of the names of the official shortlist, management responded to fan pressure and added a fourth "write-in" option. Almost half of the 14,500 who voted favoured "Sounders."

The Sounders played their first ever game on 9 February, 2009, beating LA Galaxy 3-1. They share NFL side Seattle Seahawks' stadium, which has an artificial playing surface. The upper tier is closed for soccer games reducing the capacity to 24,500. More than 20,000 season tickets have been sold for the 2009 season.

The colours are officially described as Sounder Blue, Rave Green and Cascade Shale to represent the sea, forests and mountains of the area.

Toronto FC (Eastern Conference)

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Bank of Montreal

Toronto FC are the only Canadian team currently competing in MLS. The franchise was awarded in October 2005 and the team joined the competition in April 2007, playing in a purpose built stadium, funded by a partnership of MLSE, the City of Toronto, the Provincial Government of Ontario, the Federal Government of Canada and sponsored by the Bank of Montreal. Situated in Exhibition Place in downtown Ontario the BMO Stadium is also the home of Canada's national soccer teams.

Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities and every weekend the parks are crowded with formal and informal soccer games. A high-tech "bubble" protects the MBO Stadium's playing area allowing year-round use even during the harsh Canadian winter.

Toronto FC have 16,000 season ticket holders and the club aims to provide a focus for the development of soccer at every level throughout Canada. In their home game against NY Red Bulls on 25 June, Toronto wore pink shirts in support of Breast Cancer Research.

Philadelphia Union

Designer: tba

Sponsor: tba

The City of Philadelphia franchise will join the competition next season (2010). In May 2009 it was announced that the new side would play under the name Philadelphia Union, alluding to the original Union of Thirteen Colonies. Their colours will be navy blue and gold with some additional trim in the light blue of the flag of Philadelphia.