# What English league level is the MLS? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-soccer-fifa\ **Created:** [June 16, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946 "2026-06-16T19:47:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/1 "2026-06-16T19:47:53Z")
In the FIFA WC thread, @Maserschmidt mentions “the five major leagues plus the MLS”. I know that the MLS is well below the big Euro leagues, but England, at least, has many levels. Where would you slot them in? I think these are the relevant levels: Premier Champion League 1 League 2 National League Below National League ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/2 "2026-06-16T19:51:42Z")
I’m going to guess Champion league. MLS is not at all as bad as it used to be, but still not Premier League level by any means. Maybe one or two MLS teams, at their best, could get briefly promoted to Premier, then sent back down. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/3 "2026-06-16T19:51:48Z")
I don’t remember the source, but a soccer writer more knowledgeable than I warranted that the bottom half of MLS would probably be the top half of Championship, and the top half of MLS would be the bottom half of Premier. As for me personally, I couldn’t say. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/4 "2026-06-16T19:52:34Z")
My guess is somewhere near the bottom of the Championship but better than League 1. Maybe middle of the Championship for the better MLS teams. I could see the very best possible making the playoffs for promotion. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/5 "2026-06-16T19:54:11Z")
Here is one particular ranking of leagues that has MLS at 10, just below Serie A (Brazil, not Italy). With the Championship at 7. > **[Global Football Rankings | Latest Team & League Rankings](https://globalfootballrankings.com/rankings/leagues/men)** > > Global Football Rankings (GFR) - Your trusted source for the latest football team and league rankings worldwide. Compare leagues, track FIFA rankings, and discover the best teams globally. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/6 "2026-06-16T19:54:30Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > MLS is not as bad as it used to be. Similarly, soccer is not the afterthought in US sports that it once was. All of these articles about it, from foreign sources, are talking about how soccer-indifferent Americans are warming up to the World Cup and then will go back to forgetting about it again. What these articles fail to mention is that, by one metric anyway\*, soccer is more popular than baseball and is in third place behind (gridiron) football and basketball. \*The metric this source used was the answer to the question, “What is your favorite sport?” Some 17% answered soccer; I don’t know what the other two got. Needless to say, there are a million ways to identify the most popular sport in [place] - butts in the seats, broadcast revenue, general revenue, etc. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/7 "2026-06-16T19:56:28Z")
Thanks! This looks pretty dispositive, but I welcome more opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/8 "2026-06-16T20:01:12Z")
Those club rankings have the top MLS teams (Vancouver, San Diego) around #130 globally. That puts them between Norwich (#127, finished 9th in the Championship) and Hull City (#146, finished 6th in the Championship). So that source at least backs up my supposition that the very best MLS teams might fight to make the Championship playoffs. It’s very very hard to trust these rankings very much, of course, since these teams basically never play each other in meaningful matches. ETA: One more data point. My local MLS team (St Louis City SC) is quite bad and is ranked around #410. That’s on par with Blackpool who finished 13th in League 1. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/9 "2026-06-16T20:18:26Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > My local MLS team (St Louis City SC) is quite bad Yeah, WTF is that about? I was so excited when St. Louis got a franchise. The greatest soccer city in America without a soccer team! It’s finally been rectified! They had an amazing first season and then tanked. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/10 "2026-06-16T20:30:42Z")
Well, there are a number of factors. First, they _dramatically_ over performed their actual level that first season. The number of flukey goals and lucky bounces was ridiculous. So they were never actually _that_ good. Then when the second season started poorly they dumped their coach and tried to rebuild the team. That coach (Bradley Carnell) has since gone to Philly, won coach of the year, and then got sacked this year after a horrific start. So perhaps his style is one that only works for awhile. But also they have refused to spend all of the money the could, and their decision to use their Designed Players on a goalie, an old striker (since moved on), and a midfielder that unfortunately had a series of injuries and then missed a lot of time with a sick wife, hasn’t helped either. They have slowly built themselves up from awful to mediocre, so I guess that’s progress. MLS also has an unfortunate situation where due to the salary limits designated players can pretty much choose where they want to go. So the big-name foreign players are never going to come to St Louis when they can go to Miami or Vancouver or LA. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/11 "2026-06-16T21:52:54Z")
I’ve watched a lot of Championship football and some MLS games over the last 15 years. Championship on TV/streaming. Many of the MLS games in person. Somehow it seems like the intensity of the Championship is higher. Maybe it’s just the crowd that makes it seem that way. The vast majority of the MLS crowd seems to having a nice night out, not witnessing a gladiatorial contest involving a close family member. My gut feeling is that the best of the MLS is mid table Championship quality. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/12 "2026-06-17T01:01:53Z")
Based on my limited experience with English football, the fans have a lot more in common with Southern college football fans than they do with any US major league professional sports fans. It’s that same tribal identity/almost religious fervor that college sports engender in the US, complete with the songs, fandom being part of people’s identity, and so forth. So the intensity level in the English system is naturally going to be higher than in the US pro sports. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/13 "2026-06-17T02:16:01Z")
It’s closest to the Championship for sure. Might be below it, but it’s not as far below it as League 1 is below MLS. I agree that the Championship is more intense than MLS, but it’s also often pretty ugly and brutish. Not that MLS can’t be, but I find it more aesthetic on average. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/14 "2026-06-17T02:28:12Z")
I concur; about halfway between the Championship and League One. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/15 "2026-06-17T09:18:08Z")
Let’s not sell MLS too short – an MLS player scored a hat trick in the World Cup yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/16 "2026-06-17T12:06:38Z")
He looks like he might have a promising career ahead of him, maybe he’ll be picked up by one of the big clubs. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/17 "2026-06-17T12:15:53Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Then when the second season started poorly they dumped their coach and tried to rebuild the team. That coach (Bradley Carnell) has since gone to Philly, won coach of the year, and then got sacked this year after a horrific start. So perhaps his style is one that only works for awhile. Personally, I think that it’s just that quality of coaching doesn’t really matter much, at the pro level. It’s essential for youth sports, where the coach’s job is essentially to teach the kids how to play the game, but pros all already know how to play. But, when a team is doing poorly, the coach is a convenient scapegoat. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/18 "2026-06-17T13:01:16Z")
That’s equivalent to a claim that tactics don’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/19 "2026-06-17T13:04:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Personally, I think that it’s just that quality of coaching doesn’t really matter much, at the pro level. I pretty strongly disagree. It’s just that what the coach is doing isn’t teaching them how to play. It’s teaching them the tactics he wants them to use. And, most importantly, convincing them to play those tactics with 100% commitment. In the Carnell case he tends to play a very aggressive pressing style, which requires 100% commitment by every player to work. It also tends to require the opposition to not be prepared tactically to handle it (which is absolutely what happened for St Louis City in their first season). Once a handful of players stop giving full effort, often because they don’t believe the tactics will be effective, it all falls apart Ruben Amorim at ManU is another recent example of a coach whose tactics were never fully embraced by the players. One can argue whether they were good tactics or not, but if the coach can’t convince the players to play the way he wants them to he is doomed. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-league-level-is-the-mls/1030946/20 "2026-06-17T14:23:06Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Here is one particular ranking of leagues that has MLS at 10, just below Serie A (Brazil, not Italy). With the Championship at 7. That makes sense to me. I’d put it around there.