ORLANDO, Fla. -- Major League Soccer is back.

And just to make sure everyone was clear on the concept, the league included that in the name of its return-to-play competition, the MLS Is Back tournament, which kicked off Wednesday before TV cameras and a handful of journalists at an otherwise-empty ESPN's Wide World of Sports.

The opening game ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- LAFC's Carlos Vela, the reigning MLS scoring champion and MVP, will not take part in the MLS Is Back tournament in Orlando, handing the league another setback in its push to become the first major professional sports league in the U.S. to return to play during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LAFC is scheduled to leave Monday for Florida, ...Read more

Amy Rosenfeld doesn't consider herself an artist. Yet in nearly three decades in television, she has helped bring some of the most memorable images in U.S. soccer history into tens of millions of American homes.

Brandi Chastain's shirt-doffing celebration at the 1999 Women's World Cup. Abby Wambach's game-tying header in the final seconds of ...Read more

Major League Soccer has confirmed six FC Dallas players have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the team arrived in Orlando, Florida, but the number may actually be much higher, leaving the team's participation in the MLS Is Back tournament in doubt and raising questions over whether the competition should go forward at all.

"The ...Read more

Major League Soccer is officially back, with five teams already in Orlando, Florida, and sequestered in the league bubble at the Swan and Dolphin Resort and Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

The rest of the teams will arrive this week in advance of the MLS is Back Tournament, which kicks off July 8 with Inter Miami vs. Orlando City (8...Read more

ATLANTA -- An Atlanta United player has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the second in three days, according to information provided by the team on Saturday.

The names of the players weren't released by the team. Both players are asymptomatic, according to the team. The second positive test occurred on Friday. The second player has been...Read more

There is light at the end of the tunnel for Inter Miami CF.

July 8 is the date. Exactly 129 days after the club's inaugural Major League Soccer game, a 1-0 loss at Los Angeles FC, Inter Miami will return to the field after a stoppage during the coronavirus pandemic. It won't be on their home field. And it won't be in front of fans.

But there ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The first time he watched the horrifying video of George Floyd's death on a Minneapolis street corner, Nedum Onuoha saw more than just a police officer kneeling on the neck of an unarmed black man. He saw more than the asphyxiation of someone who repeatedly called out, "I can't breathe!"

Like many black men he also saw himself ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Galaxy released midfielder Aleksandar Katai on Friday, two days after the team was made aware of inflammatory social media messages posted on an account belonging to the player's wife.

Tea Katai's posts, which have been taken down, appeared to make light of the protests and looting that occurred in the wake of ...Read more

Soccer could be the first professional team sport to return from the COVID-19 break with the NWSL on Wednesday announcing plans for a 25-game tournament to be played behind closed doors in Utah beginning June 27.

The NWSL will house players from its nine teams at two hotels in the Salt Lake City area, where they will live and train during the ...Read more

This weekend, Germany's Bundesliga becomes the first major soccer league in Europe to return to action after stopping because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's a viewer's guide to the players to know about, how to watch the games, and picking a favorite team.

If you're new to this

Let's get the simple stuff out of the way first. The ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- After nearly two months of seeing his team only on Zoom or Facetime, Bob Bradley was back at LAFC's training facility Thursday, where he got to see many of his players work out in the flesh.

It was an important first step back from the coronavirus-induced shutdown that suspended the MLS season March 12. But, Bradley added, it ...Read more

The suspension of Inter Miami CF's inaugural season hasn't stopped the team from being tied to some of the biggest names in soccer.

The Major League Soccer expansion club has reportedly been linked to Real Madrid star James Rodriguez, with international soccer website Goal.com reporting that David Beckham, Inter Miami owner and president of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Soccer said Friday that it will reopen team training facilities to players next week for the first time since the league suspended its season in mid-March.

The partial lifting of the training moratorium, for individual workouts under closely controlled conditions, comes in response to concerns players were ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- In a major victory for U.S. Soccer, a federal judge on Friday dismissed the unequal pay claim brought by the World Cup champion women's national team, ruling that the evidence offered by the players' lawyers was "insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact for trial."

The team's allegation of discriminatory travel ...Read more

France's Ligue 1 became the second major European soccer league to abandon its season because of the COVID-19 outbreak when the country's prime minister announced on Tuesday that all sporting events would be banned until September.

France is scheduled to lift a nationwide lockdown May 11 and first- and second-division teams were hoping to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Soccer announced Friday it had extended its moratorium on games another four weeks, to June 8, adding for the first time that it is exploring changes in player compensation if a full 34-game season is not played.

"We are seeking to work collaboratively with the (players union) to find a solution that provides a ...Read more