[Competition Rules and Regulations] 2014 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER RULES OF COMPETITION
[CONFERENCES] Teams will be aligned into two conferences as they were in 2013:
[REGULAR SEASON] Each of the 19 MLS clubs will play 34 games, 17 at home and 17 away. The nine Western Conference teams will face each West club three times (home teams reversed from 2013). The 10 Eastern Conference teams will play seven (7) East teams three times each (home teams reversed from 2013) and two East teams twice each. Eastern and Western Conference teams will play each other once in 2014, with the home team reversed from the 2013.
WHO QUALIFIES: Ten teams, the top five in points from each conference at the end of the regular season, qualify for the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs.
The fourth and fifth place teams in each conference will play a single knockout game, the winner of which will advance to the Conference Semifinals and face the first place team in the conference.
The four Conference Semifinals will be decided by two-game aggregate series, with the lower seed hosting the first leg and the higher seed hosting the second leg. If the aggregate score is tied after 180 minutes of play, the away goals rule will apply so as to be consistent with CONCACAF and FIFA practice. If the series remains tied, two 15-minute extra time periods will be played in their entirety, followed by penalty kicks, if necessary. The away goals tiebreaker will not apply to overtime in the 2nd leg of any two-legged playoff series.
The two Conference Championships will be decided by a two-game aggregate series, with the lower seed hosting the first leg and the higher seed hosting the second leg. If the aggregate score is tied after 180 minutes of play, the away goals rule will apply so as to be consistent with CONCACAF and FIFA practice. If the series remains tied, two 15-minute extra time periods will be played in their entirety, followed by penalty kicks, if necessary. The away goals tiebreaker will not apply to overtime in the 2nd leg of any two-legged playoff series.
MLS Cup will be a single championship match hosted by the finalist with the most regular season points. If the two finalists have the same number of regular season points, the tiebreakers for playoff qualification will be applied to determine the host team.
If the score is tied after 90 minutes of play, two 15-minute extra time periods will be played in their entirety, followed by kicks from the penalty mark, if necessary.
10 clubs will qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs – the top five in points from each conference at the end of the regular season. The 4th- and 5th- place teams will play a single knockout game, the winner of which will advance to the Conference Semifinals and face the 1st-place team in the conference. The Conference Semifinals will be decided by a two-game, aggregate-goal format. The Conference Championships will be decided by a two-game, aggregate-goal format. MLS Cup will be hosted by the finalist that finished the regular season with the most points in the standings.
[World Cup 2014 USMNT] Here is the full 30-man roster:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/England) Tim Howard (Everton/England) Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (11): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla/Mexico) Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City) John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/Germany) Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/England) Timmy Chandler (Nürnberg/Germany) Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC) Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes) Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim/Germany) Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew) DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake) Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes/France) Michael Bradley (Toronto FC) Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/Mexico) Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo) Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg/Norway) Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union) Julian Green (Bayern Munich/Germany) Jermaine Jones (Besiktas/Turkey) Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Sunderland/England) Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna/Austria) Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders) Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar/Netherlands) Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
The two demographic groups most passionate about soccer are young adults -- those ages 18 to 29 -- and Hispanics. Demographers expect the Hispanic population to triple by 2050 making up roughly one
-third of the population . And Hispanic sport preferences differ starkly from those of other Americans. Twenty-six percent of Hispanics say that soccer is their favorite sport to watch, followed by football (22 percent),
basketball (14 percent) and baseball (13 percent). In contrast, only 3 percent of white non-
Hispanics Americans say soccer is their favorite sport. Hispanics also report greater interest in the World Cup with 56 percent saying they are likely to watch the tournament, compared to 20 percent of white non-Hispanic Americans.
Football remains the most popular sport among young adults,
but soccer is the runner-up. Thirty-two-percent of young adults say football is their favorite sport, compared to 13 percent who say soccer, 10 percent who say basketball and just 7 percent who say baseball.
Further, soccer fans tend to be much younger than other fans.
The average age of Americans who say soccer is their favorite sport is just 37,
while the average age for football fans is 46 and for baseball 53.
If baseball is America's past, and football is its present, then soccer may be its future.
Considering that almost 60% of Hispanics have Mexican ancestry (according to the Census 2000), it comes as no surprise that Univision and TeleFutura’s broadcast last month of the “Futbol Liga Mexicana” Championship games broke audience records for both Spanish networks.
Nielsen has released it's data on sports fans in 2013, and it has some promising figures for soccer.
While Nielsen ratings for soccer broadcasts often bring much wailing and gnashing of teeth, things are trending up in several areas. The report focuses on soccer's two biggest draws in the US, the youth market and the Hispanic market.
"MLS still had strong viewership during its playoffs, which were up nine percent compared to 2012. When looking at the MLS regular season audience, viewership skewed young (40% under 34) and Hispanic (34%)."
Costa Rica Jairo Arrieta (Columbus Crew) * alternate Waylon Francis (Columbus Crew) Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew) Roy Miller (New York Red Bulls) Alvaro Saborio (Real Salt Lake)
Ecuador Oswaldo Minda (Chivas USA) * alternate
England Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC) * alternate
Honduras Jerry Bengtson (New England Revolution) Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes) Marvin Chavez (Chivas USA) Boniek Garcia (Houston Dynamo) Johnny Leveron (Vancouver Whitecaps) * alternate Alexander Lopez (Houston Dynamo) * alternate
Iran Steven Beitashour (Vancouver Whitecaps)
USA Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake) Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City) Michael Bradley (Toronto FC) Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo) Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders) Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union) Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders) Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes) Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew) Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes) DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders) Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)