Major League Soccer 2019
With the accession of FC Cincinnati as the latest expansion franchise, MLS now has 24 teams. The regular season involves each side playing 34 matches: twice against their conference opponents, home and away, and onc game against each non-conference side. The play-offs format has been changed and fourteen teams will contest the end of season matches with the top seed in each conference given a bye to the conference semi-finals. All elimination matches are now played as single games with the higher seeds receiving home advantage. The winners of the two conference finals will contest the MLS Cup on November 10.
In its wisdom, MLS has decided that change kits are now to be called "community kits" and should have some sort of tie-in to the local community. Twenty out of the twenty-four of these are predominantly white.
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Atlanta won the MLS Cup last year in only their second season in the competition, so take their place in the Champions League. The team has one of the largest fanbases in the North America and with a net worth in excees of $300 million, it is also the wealthiest.
Chicago finished tenth in their conference last season. It is the turn of their seconday kit to be replaced this term while the red first strip is updated with the new sponsor.
Formerly members of the USL Championship, FC Cincinnati were reconstituted in November 2018 as the newest MLS franchise. They are sharing the Nippert Stadium with the Cincinnati Bearcats American college football team while the soccer-specific West End Stadium is built. Their arrival in MLS creates an in-state rivalry with Columbus Crew.
Colorado had another disappointing campaign finishing eleventh in their conference. The new white strip is paradoxically called the "Black Diamond" kit, a reference to the most demanding ski runs in the state. These require the highest levels of skill, expertise and intensity and this (stay with me) is reflected in expectations on players. There will be a joke about it all going downhill in there somewhere.
In October 2017 the Crew's owner, Anthony Precourt, announced his intention to relocate to Austin, Texas. After a public outcry, the state Attorney General and City of Columbus filed a lawsuit citing a 1996 statute that prevents sports teams that have benefited from public funding or facilities from being relocated without a six-month notice period during which attempts must be made to find new, local owners. In October 2018 the owner of the Cleveland Browns announced he would purchase the soccer franchise while Precourt was given the right to start up a new franchise in Austin. Ironically it was the proposed move of the Browns to Baltimore in 1995 that led to the legislation that saved the Crew being passed into state law.
After Wayne Rooney joined the team last June their fortunes improved considerably and they qualified for the play-offs where they were knocked out by Columbus. Their new change strip is white with silver trim.
The new white "Community Strip" was launched as the "Reunion Kit." There are sublimated diagonal pinstripes on the front of the shirt and we are being asked to believe these represent the cable stays on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in downtown Dallas. It was launched at an event in the Reunion Tower. So there we have our community links.
Houston have introduced a new all-orange "energy strip" with stylised streaks on the front of the shirt. Space blue makes its reappearance at the collar and the shirts now have a sponsor. The team won the 2018 US Open Cup, earning them a place in the Champions League.
In their first MLS season Los Angeles made it to the play-offs where they were beaten 3-2 by Salt Lake in the knock-out round. The new change strip is predominantly white with distorted silver-grey bands that are supposed to evoke the theme printed into the jock tag, "Street by Street, Block by Block, One by One," which sounds like a pitch for the sequel to "Battle: Los Angeles."
While Galaxy's form improved they did not quite make it into the play-offs. Their secondary kit is new and features pixelated stripes in two tones of blue.
The Loons move into their new Allianz Field Stadium in St Paul's this year. It's the turn of their secondary kit to get a makeover and predictably enough it's mainly white. Described as their Drift Kit it has a subtle texture on the shirt to evoke the driven snow typical of the bitter Minnesota winters.
Montreal once again missed out on the play-offs. After three seasons, they have updated their primary kit. Like the Adidas striped tops seen in the UK this season, the stripes do not extend onto the back of the shirt.
It's time for the secondary kit to be updated this season and we are invited to admire "The Colonial", which is based on the uniforms worn by American officers during the Revolutionary War. I now have an image firmly in my brain of the brave insurgents fighting the British and led by officers wearing overpriced replica football shirts.
NYCFC reached the Eastern Conference semi-finals where Atlanta knocked them out over two legs. They have a new primary kit in signature light blue trimmed in navy and orange, the latter a reference to the city's Dutch origins. 
Red Bulls once again made it to the play-offs and went all the way to the Eastern Conference final where they lost over two legs to Atlanta who went on to lift the MLS Cup. They also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. They finished top of the overall table, two points ahead of Atlanta and were awarded the Supporters' Shield. Their new primary "Glitch Kit" features Adidas' latest gimmick, a fractured graphic that suggests an accident in the fabric printing process.
Orlando are going through a lean time at present and finished last in their conference. Their new first choice strip is purple on purple with the same graphic on the shirt that we saw on Spain's change strip in the World Cup last year.
Philadelphia have a new white change strip with the subtle but complex detailing that is becoming the fashion. Much is made in the marketing blurb about the monochromatic look but I suppose they have to find something to write about. The sponsor's logo on the first choice kit has been altered slightly.
Portland had another fine season and while they did not repeat their 2017 success of winning the Western Conference, they made it all the way to the MLS Cup final and finished as runners up. On the other hand, in the USA you get nothing for being second. The updated first choice strip features hoops on the front of the shirt in two shades of dark green with the familiar gold trimmings.
Salt Lake reached the Conference semi-finals last season. Their change kit has been updated. It is again mainly white but it now has unpleasant scratchy lines across the chest. 
The Earthquakes finished bottom of the Western Conference with just four wins and the worst record in MLS. Looking at the new first choice kit you might wonder what has happened to the signature fractured stripes that signify San Jose's geological fault. In fact these now form a very fine pattern in the blue panel on the chest that is invisible at any distance.
Second place in the Western Conference put Seattle stright into the play-offs semi-final. With the aggregate scores level at 4-4 Portland won the penalty competition. The new secondary kit is "Nightfall," a very special design whose inspiration is drawn from the night skyline over the Puget Sound, paying homage to the beautiful nature of Seattle and the club's home stadium, CenturyLink Field, according to Adidas' Global Product Director, Oliver Bechtel. I wonder if he writes drivel like this when selling off unwanted items on eBay.
Kansas won the Western Conference but lost in the final to Portland over two legs. Raw Grey is combined with customary pale blue to create a striking new first choice outfit. Their US Open Cup win in 2017 has earned thm a place in the Champiions League.
The holders of the MLS Cup did not even make into to the play-offs last season but they did reach the final of the CONCACEF Champions League. With the scores level over two legs, Guadalajara won the penalty shoot-out. They also won the Canadian Championship for the third season in a row, which booked them a place in the Champions League once again.
Vancouver did not make the play-offs and were beaten by Toronto in the Canadian Championship final. Their latest primary kit is, when compared with the many overcomplicated designs Adidas have produced this year, a classic.