Seattle Sounders FC is a
soccer team based in
Seattle, Washington, that competes in
Major League Soccer (MLS), the most senior soccer league in the United States. The club was established in 2007 as an MLS
expansion team, succeeding an existing
second-division team of the same name, and began play in 2009.[1] The MLS regular season typically runs from February to October and the best-performing team is awarded the
Supporters' Shield; the top nine teams from each conference qualify for the
MLS Cup Playoffs, a postseason tournament that culminates in the
MLS Cup.[2][3]
In addition to league play, the Sounders compete in the annual
U.S. Open Cup tournament organized by the
United States Soccer Federation and the
Leagues Cup contested by teams from MLS and
Liga MX of Mexico.[2][4] The league and cup tournaments serve as qualifiers for the following year's
CONCACAF Champions Cup (formerly the CONCACAF Champions League), an annual international competition between league and cup champions in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.[5][6] The CONCACAF Champions Cup winner then qualifies for the next
FIFA Club World Cup, which is held annually but will switch to every four years beginning in 2025.[7][8]
The Sounders are one of the
most successful clubs in MLS history,[9][10] having won eight trophies since entering the league in 2009.[11][12] They won three consecutive U.S. Open Cup titles from 2009 to 2011 and a fourth in 2014, becoming the second MLS club to do so.[13][14] The club earned their first Supporters' Shield in 2014, completing a
double,[15] and won the MLS Cup in 2016 and 2019 during a run of
four finals in five years.[16] They won the
CONCACAF Champions League in 2022, becoming the first MLS club to win the competition under its modern format and qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup.[11][17] The Leagues Cup remains the only major North American competition that the Sounders have not won; the team finished as runners-up in the
2021 edition.[18]Sigi Schmid was the club's head coach from the inaugural MLS season in 2009 until July 2016;[19] he was replaced by
Brian Schmetzer, initially as interim coach and later as full head coach.[20] Colombian striker
Fredy Montero is the club's all-time top scorer with 76 goals; he joined the club in 2009 and has played for the Sounders in two stints.[21]
As of the end of the
2022 season, the club has played 14 seasons in MLS with 211 wins, 141 losses, and 104 draws—a
winning percentage of 0.577.[22] The Sounders qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in their first 13 seasons—as of 2022[update], they were tied for the MLS record and the second longest among the
major sports leagues in the United States behind the
National Hockey League's
Pittsburgh Penguins.[23] The Sounders led
MLS attendance in their first eight years in the league, averaging over 30,000 per season, until they were surpassed by
Atlanta United FC in 2017.[24] The club achieved their highest season attendance in 2015 with 44,247 per match;[25] as of 2022, the 219 regular season matches at
Lumen Field in Seattle have averaged 39,053 spectators and drawn over 8.55 million total people.[26] The most-attended home Sounders matches were the
2022 CONCACAF Champions League Final's 2nd leg with 68,741—a tournament record—and
MLS Cup 2019 with 69,274 spectators.[27]
FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) – The premier intercontinental club tournament organized by
FIFA since 2000 between the winners of continental competitions, such as CONCACAF Champions Cup.[8]
Key to colors and symbols
1st or W
Winners
2nd or RU
Runners-up
3rd
Third place
Last
Last place
♦
League top scorer
Italics
Ongoing competition
Key to cup record
DNE = Did not enter
DNQ = Did not qualify
NH = Competition not held or canceled
QR = Qualifying round
PR = Preliminary round
GS = Group stage
R1 = First round
R2 = Second round
R3 = Third round
R4 = Fourth round
R5 = Fifth round
Ro16 = Round of 16
Ro32 = Round of 32
QF = Quarterfinals or Conference Semifinals
SF = Semifinals or Conference Finals
F = Final
RU = Runners-up
W = Winners
Seasons
Results of Seattle Sounders FC league and cup competitions by season
^The 2020 season was shortened due to the
COVID-19 pandemic;[42] league standings were determined using
points per game due to an uneven number of matches played.[43] The three group stage matches during the
MLS is Back Tournament counted towards regular season standings, while knockout stage matches did not.[44]
^Attendance figures for the 2020 season do not reflect matches played
without spectators due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[49] The figures were calculated from the two home matches played in March 2020 that drew 40,126 and 33,080 spectators.[48]