SECTION 2

SECTION 2. MLS & INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL TERMINOLOGY

MLS CLUBS

Below you will find the proper spelling for each MLS Club, with first and second references, stadium name, city they play in, as well as their Tricode (three-letter code used for broadcast).

  • Only first and second reference are allowed and only known and approved nicknames should be used; never make up a nickname for a club (e.g., “The Pigeons” for NYCFC) 
  • Write all team names as plural nouns. This is contrary to AP style but similar to international wires. (e.g., “Atlanta United are playing on Saturday night”) 
  • Clubs have teams. “Atlanta United 2” is not a club, it is a team within Atlanta United FC. 
  • You can refer to an MLS club as “club” or “team” or “squad” or “side” - never use “franchise”.
MLS CLUBS
TRICODE
FIRST REFERENCE
SECOND REFERENCE
STADIUM
CITY
ATL
Atlanta United
ATL UTD, Atlanta
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, GA
ATX
Austin FC
Austin
Q2 Stadium
Austin, TX
CLT
Charlotte FC
Charlotte
Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, NC
CHI
Chicago Fire
Chicago, the Fire
Soldier Field
Chicago, IL
COL
Colorado Rapids
Colorado, the Rapids
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Commerce City, CO
CLB
Columbus Crew
Columbus, the Crew
Lower.com Field
Columbus, OH
DC
DC United
DC
Audi Field
Washington, D.C.
CIN
FC Cincinnati
Cincinnati
TQL Stadium
Cincinnati, OH
DAL
FC Dallas
Dallas
Toyota Stadium
Frisco, TX
HOU
Houston Dynamo
Houston, the Dynamo
PNC Stadium
Houston, TC
SKC
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting KC, KC, SKC
Children's Mercy Park
Kansas City, KS
LA
LA Galaxy
Galaxy
Dignity Health Sports Park
Carson, CA
LAFC
Los Angeles FC
LAFC
BMO Stadium
Los Angeles, CA
MIA
Inter Miami
Miami
DRV PNK Stadium
Fort Lauderdale, FL
MIN
Minnesota United
Minnesota, MNUFC
Allianz Field
Saint Paul, MN
MTL 
CF Montréal
Montréal
Stade Saputo
Montreal, Quebec
NSH
Nashville SC
Nashville
Geodis Park
Nashville, TN
NE
New England Revolution
New England, the Revolution
Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, MA
NY
New York Red Bulls
Red Bulls
Red Bull Arena
Harrison, NJ
NYC
New York City FC
NYCFC, City
Yankee Stadium
Bronx, NY
ORL
Orlando City
Orlando
Exploria Stadium
Orlando, FL
PHI
Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia, the Union
Subaru Park
Chester, PA
POR
Portland Timbers
the Timbers, Portland
Providence Park
Portland, OR
RSL
Real Salt Lake
RSL, Salt Lake
America First Field
Sandy, UT
SJ
San Jose Earhtquakes
the Earthquakes, San Jose, the Quakes
PayPal Park
San Jose, CA
SEA
Seattle Sounders
the Sounders, Seattle
Lumen Field
Seattle, WA
STL
St. Louis City
St. Louis
CITYPARK
St. Louis, MO
TOR
Toronto FC
Toronto
BMO Field
Toronto, Ontario
VAN
Vancouver Whitecaps
the Whitecaps, Vancouver
BC Place
Vancouver, British Columbia
MLS EVENTS AND AWARDS
home opener
MLS regular season
“regular season” and “season” can be used as second references
Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs
"playoffs” can be used as second reference
If there’s a mention to playoffs from other sporting or soccer competition that is also mentioned in an article or press release, “MLS Cup Playoffs” should be used as a second reference
MLS Cup
MLS Cup Championship
"MLS Cup title” can also be used
MLS Cup Champion
MLS Eastern Conference
"Eastern Conference” can be used as a second reference 
MLS Eastern Conference Championship
Leagues Cup
Leagues Cup Champion
Supporters' Shield
Supporters' Shield winner
MLS SuperDraft 2023 presented by adidas 
"SuperDraft” can be used as a second reference 
MLS All-Star Game presented by Target  
"All-Star Game” can be used as a second reference 
"ASG” should never be used editorially, only on social copy when relevant
the Major League Soccer Players Association 
MLS Players Association (2nd ref.)
the Players Association (also 2nd ref.)
MLSPA (3rd ref.) 
Professional Referee Organization (PRO) 
(PRO) should always be included in the first reference
"PRO” can be used as a second reference   
MLS Heineken Rivalry Week 
"Rivalry Week” can be used as a second reference
2023 AT&T 5G MLS Goal of the Year
"Goal of the Year” can be used as a second reference 
AT&T Goal of the Week - MLS Week XX 
"Goal of the Week” can be used as a second reference  
MLS Save of the Year presented by Allstate 
"Save of the Year” can be used as a second reference  
MLS Player of the Week  
MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi 
"Team of the Week” can be used as a second reference 
MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi 
"Golden Boot” can be used as a second reference 
MLS Newcomer of the Year 
"Newcomer of the Year” can be used as a second reference
Landon Donovan MLS MVP Award 
"MLS MVP Award” can be used as a second reference 
MLS Best XI
eMLS
eMLS Cup presented by TikTok
"eMLS Cup” can be used as a second reference 
eMLS League Series 1 presented by Coca-Cola 
"League Series 1” can be used as a second reference 
eMLS League Series 2 presented by Coca-Cola  
"League Series 2” can be used as a second reference 
MLS NEXT Pro
Second-tier competition
MLS NEXT Pro Champion
MLS NEXT
Academy competition
INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS AND EVENTS
FIFA World Cup 26™
"FIFA World Cup™" can be used as a second reference
FIFA World Cup 26 Host City™
#WeAre26
Official hashtag for FIFA World Cup 26™
Concacaf Champions League
CCL (2nd ref.)
Never "Concachampions"
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
U.S. Open Cup (2nd ref.)
Concacaf Gold Cup
Leagues Cup 2023
FIFA World Cup 26™ Qualifying
UEFA Champions League
Champions League (2nd ref.)
UCL (3rd ref.)
UEFA European Championship 
UEFA Euro (2nd ref.)  
CONMEBOL Copa América 
Copa América (2nd ref.)  
CONMEBOL Libertadores 
Copa Libertadores (2nd ref.) 
Libertadores (3rd ref.) 
FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia / New Zealand 2023 ™  
FIFAe
FIFAe World Cup 
FIFAe Club World Cup
FIFAe Nations Cup
FIFAe Continental Cup 

INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC SOCCER ORGANIZATIONS

FIFA (1st reference and preferred) 

If using the whole name of the governing body, it must be written in French and always include the abbreviation at the end: Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

For the following confederations affiliated to FIFA, use their abbreviation: 

Concacaf

  • The whole name can be used, but it’s not necessary: Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football

CONMEBOL

  • The whole name can be used, but it’s not necessary: Confederación Suramericana de Fútbol (in Spanish); South American Football Confederation(in English)

UEFA

  • The whole name can be used, but it’s not necessary: Union of European Football Associations

For the following confederations affiliated to FIFA, use their whole name in English as a first reference, and their abbreviation as a second reference:

Asian Football Confederation 

  • AFC (2nd reference)

Confederation of African Football

  • CAF (2nd reference)

Oceania Football Confederation

  • OFC (2nd reference)

US Soccer

  • “US Soccer Federation” can also be used
  • “US Men’s National Team” and “USMNT” can be used interchangeable 
  • “US Women’s National Team” and “USWNT” can be used interchangeable

Mexican Football Federation

  • “Mexican Federation” and “Federación Mexicana” can be used as a second reference

For international leagues, the first reference should always be their full name, and when applicable the abbreviation should be next to it. Next, we enlist the proper spelling for the most common international leagues: 

  • Premier League (EPL) 
  • LaLiga 
  • Bundesliga 
  • Liga MX 
  • Serie A 

For leagues with ambiguous names or names with sponsors attached to it, the country of origin should be specified, as the examples below show: 

  • Argentine Primera División 
  • Colombian League (preferred), Colombian Liga BetPlay (official name)

If more than one league with similar names are included in the same text, the most globally recognized one should prevail. For example: 

  • The striker began his career in the Ecuadorian league and was the top scorer in the Brazilian first division, before being transferred to the Italian Serie A (DO) 
  • The striker began his career in the Ecuadorian Serie A and was the top scorer in Brazil’s Série A, before being transferred to the Italian Serie A (DON’T) 
  • The striker began his career in the Ecuadorian league and was the top scorer in Brazil, before being transferred to Italy (also valid) 

For Colleges, the first reference should always be the name of the institution. Team’s or mascots’ nicknames can be used as a second reference, when relevant. For institutions where the abbreviations are widely recognized, either the full name or the abbreviation are valid as a first reference. For example: 

  • University of Akron (1st reference), Akron (2nd reference), Zips (3rd reference) 
  • University of California Los Angeles, UCLA (both valid as 1st reference)