Since its inception in 1996, Major League Soccer (MLS) has made great strides over the years.
The notion of the league was conceived of following the most attended World Cup in history; 1994 America. With the success of this event, the founders saw MLS as an opportunity to develop local talent and put North American soccer on the international map. Currently, two-thirds of the MLS player pool has been born in the US or Canada. The remaining third originate from 57 unique countries.
In recent years, several international superstars have joined the MLS to give the league further recognition the likes of which include Thierry Henry (France) in 2010, Robbie Keane (Ireland) in 2011 and David Beckham (England) in 2007.
2007 also marked the first year the MLS expanded outside of the United States. Toronto FC, the 13th franchise in league history played their first game on April 7th, 2007 against Chivas USA. Three weeks later, BMO field was home to the team’s first ever home game against the Kansas City Wizards, the first official MLS game played outside of US soil.
Presently in their fifth season, Toronto FC (TFC), whose players boast the patriotic red in attire, has given Canadians an opportunity to identify with a Toronto based team. Despite poor performance in the first four seasons, TFC has exceeded management expectations in terms of attendance figures. In the first four seasons the team has progressively improved, finishing 13th of 13 teams in 2007, 12th of 14 teams in 2008, 12th of 15 teams in 2009 and 11th of 16 teams in 2010.
Occasionally, TFC also participates in friendly matches against teams in the European soccer leagues. On August 7, 2009 BMO field hosted a match between legendary club Real Madrid and TFC. This match marked a spectacular year for the stadium as it hosted the MLS all-star game the year prior.
In the 15 years of MLS history, there have been nine different champions with DC United atop the ranks with 4 titles. The league has come a long way from the original group of ten teams. Since 2004, it has nearly doubled in size from 10 teams to 18. During this period, there has been a pattern of expansion towards northern cities with the likes of Toronto (2007), Seattle (2009), Philadelphia (2010), Portland (2011) and Vancouver (2011).
The popularity of TFC resulted in the inevitable additions of Vancouver in 2011 and by the start of next season, Montreal. Montreal will be the third Canadian franchise to join the league, the 19th overall.
多伦多足球俱乐部FC与北美职业足球大联盟
（星星生活记者贾际报道）北美职业足球大联盟(MLS)成立于1996年，经过多年的锤炼，联盟取得了长足的进步。组建联赛的想法始于1994年在美国本土举办的第15届世界杯足球赛，这是历史上观众最多的世界杯赛，有超过350万观众现场参与，这一记录保持至今。此外，美国队打入八强，这也是他们自1930年于乌拉圭举行的首届世界杯夺得第三名之后的最好成绩。
联盟的创始人从美国举办世界杯的成功中看到机会，认定联盟可以培养本土人才以及将北美足球纳入国际足球的版图中。目前，三分之二的MLS球员是在美国或加拿大出生，其余的三分之一球员来自世界各地多达57个国家。
近年来，不少国际巨星纷纷踏足北美职业足球赛场，更令大联盟声名远扬。如2007年加盟联赛的英格兰球星大卫·贝克汉姆(David Beckham)，2010年加盟的法国球星蒂埃里·亨利(Thierry Henry)，2011年加盟的球星爱尔兰的罗比·基恩(Robbie Keane)等。
2007年是MLS具有历史意义的一年。这一年，MLS首次将加盟球队扩大至美国以外的地区。多伦多足球俱乐部(TFC)成为联盟的第13支球队。2007年4月7日，多伦多FC首次在洛杉矶对阵美国芝华士队(Chivas USA)。三周后的4月28日，多伦多FC在自己的主场BMO足球场首次迎战堪萨斯城巫师队(Kansas City Wizards)，这也是联盟成立以来首次在美国本土之外举行的比赛。
至今为止，多伦多FC已经步入MLS的第五个赛季，球队给了加拿大民众一个机会去认同这支来自多伦多的足球队以及用红色所代表的国家。尽管多伦多队在前四个赛季的比赛中战绩不佳，但观众的数字已超过了管理层的预期。而且，多伦多FC的表现已逐步改观，2007年，在13支球队中垫底，2008年在14支球队中排名第12位，2009年在15支球队中排名第12位，2010年在16支球队中排名已经上升至第11位。但多伦多FC今年的状态不佳，仍没有进入季后赛的可能。
多伦多FC的主场BMO足球场也留下两次辉煌的记忆。2008年，MLS全明星队与英国足球超级联赛西汉姆联队(West Ham United)比赛。2009年，多伦多FC与颇具传奇色彩的西班牙皇家马德里队(Real Madrid)交锋。这两场比赛至今仍为人所津津乐道。
在MLS的15年历史中，共有9支球队分别夺得联赛的冠军，其中华盛顿特区联队4次折桂。联盟在成立之初只有10支队伍。自2004年以来，加盟球队逐年稳步增长，从10支球队增加至目前的18支，增幅近一倍。在此期间，联盟开始向北方城市扩张，如多伦多(2007年)，西雅图(2009年)，费城(2010年)，波特兰(2011年)和温哥华(2011年)等。
多伦多FC的成功使得温哥华和在蒙特利尔参加北美职业足球大联盟成为必然。2011年，温哥华Whitecaps FC加盟。在下个赛季，蒙特利尔Impact球队亦将加盟。届时，MLS 将有19支球队，其中包括加拿大的这三支球队。
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