Major League Soccer announced the nominees for its 2024 MLS Year-End Awards, which highlight the accomplishments of the league’s top players on and off the field, as well as the achievements of head coaches and referees during the 2024 MLS regular season. The full list of awards and nominees can be found here.
Among those competing for the league’s most prestigious individual honor, the Landon Donovan MLS MVP, are Inter Miami CF duo Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, who each played a crucial role in the club’s first-ever Supporters’ Shield title, as well as MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi frontrunner Christian Benteke, who leads the league with 23 goals for D.C. United this season. Also in the mix are reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP Luciano Acosta of FC Cincinnati and Portland Timbers’ midfielder Evander lead the league in goal contributions with 33 each, and the Columbus Crew’s Cucho Hernández has had a career-year with 32 goal contributions.
Suárez was also nominated for MLS Newcomer of the Year, alongside the LA Galaxy’s Gabriel Pec, who leads all first-year MLS players in goal contributions with 29 (15 goals, 14 assists) for the first-place team in the Western Conference. Club-record signings in Hugo Cuypers and Petar Musa are also among the nominees after leading Chicago Fire FC and FC Dallas, respectively, in goals this season, and Luca Orellano is among the most productive players on this list with 10 goals and seven assists in his first MLS season with FC Cincinnati.
The voting window for the annual postseason awards will conclude on Monday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m. ET. Finalists for each award will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Information on the 2024 MLS Year-End Awards nomination and voting process is available here.
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One of the most exciting aspects of any professional sports league’s season is watching the emergence of young superstars, and the MLS Young Player of the Year recognizes the cream of the crop when it comes to those who break onto the professional scene in MLS.
Real Salt Lake’s 2024 season has been filled with top performances from U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Diego Luna, who is the youngest player to produce at least 12 assists this season and has been the club’s go-to playmaker in the latter half of this season.
Inter Miami CF has never had a finalist for MLS Young Player of the Year, but both Paraguay midfielder Diego Gómez and Argentine midfielder Federico Redondo are tied for the fourth-most assists among Miami players with seven each within a squad of world-class players.
Also in the Eastern Conference is 20-year-old Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy, who, in his first MLS season, has been tasked with replacing the goal-scoring production of USMNT forward Brandon Vázquez. His six goals in 2024 rank fourth among Cincinnati players this season, yet he is the only 20-year-old player in MLS to score at least five goals so far this season.
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St. Louis City SC featured a new Roman Burki “He’s in your head” tifo. Instagram
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| U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Mauricio Pochettino attended Austin FC II’s match on MLS NEXT Pro Decision Day on Sunday. Twitter |
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| LAFC forward Carlos Vela was honored with a custom NFL jersey at Sunday’s Los Angeles Rams game. Instagram |
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Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs seeding is not the only thing up for grabs on Decision Day 2024 as three clubs – FC Cincinnati, Real Salt Lake, and Seattle Sounders FC – look to clinch a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. All three clubs are deadlocked at 56 points and will be aiming to pull out a win, while hoping others drop points on the final day of the year.
The top four in the Supporter’s Shield standings have already clinched berths in the 2025 edition of the tournament through various means – Inter Miami CF (Supporters’ Shield winner), LA Galaxy (Shield standings), Columbus Crew (Leagues Cup winner), and LAFC (Leagues Cup runner-up). This means the next two teams in the Supporters’ Shield standings will earn a spot in the competition.
Each Decision Day matchup poses unique challenges to each side as they look for three points. Cincinnati is the only team on the road, facing a Union squad with postseason hopes (6 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). Seattle has a rivalry matchup with the Timbers in which the winner will take home the Cascadia Cup (9 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). Finally, Salt Lake is the only club facing a team already qualified in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup in the Vancouver Whitecaps, who won the Canadian Championship in September (9 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
The club that does not qualify will then need to win MLS Cup presented by Audi if they want to be playing in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup next season. It is all to play for on Decision Day as a trip to the continental championship is on the line during the final day of the MLS regular season.
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During the October FIFA International Window, MLS players will represent their countries across a myriad of competitions, including these three rising stars that you should keep an eye on.
- Patrickson Delgado (FC Dallas, Ecuador) – Called up for a pair of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches in South America, Delgado will look to cap off a break-out season with Dallas by making his first appearance for Ecuador’s men’s national team. Ecuador will host Paraguay and travel to Uruguay during this window, with the second match presenting an opportunity for Delgado to help Ecuador leap Uruguay in the standings.
- David Martínez (LAFC, Venezuela) – With three goals in his last five regular-season matches, the 18-year-old winger has hit his stride for LAFC in the club’s pursuit of the Western Conference’s top seed for the playoffs. Martínez and Venezuela face a Lionel Messi-led Argentina and Paraguay in their next two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, looking to hold onto the last automatic qualification spot out of South America.
- Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders FC, Mexico) – The 19-year-old Anchorage, Alaska native has been helping run Seattle’s midfield since he was 16, including during their 2022 Concacaf Champions League triumph over Pumas UNAM, and has 65 regular-season appearances since 2021. Vargas will test his mettle at the international level with Mexico, including potentially in a storied international rivalry match against the U.S. on Tuesday, October 15.
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After an exciting Decision Day on Sunday where the final six spots in the postseason were cliched, the drama continues Tuesday, October 8, with the return of the “Pick-Your-Opponent” playoff format. The selection process will be livestreamed on MLSNEXTPro.com, X, and Instagram, allowing viewers to watch in real time as clubs choose who they will face in the first round of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. The Eastern (2 p.m. ET) and Western (3p.m. ET) Conference Selection Shows will be hosted by one of the most renowned voices in American soccer, MLS Season Pass announcer Max Bretos.
In the East, the No. 1-3 seeds – FC Cincinnati 2, Philadelphia Union II, and Inter Miami II, respectively – will choose from the No. 5-8 seeds. No. 4 seed Chicago Fire II will face the remaining club.
As the No. 1-3 seeds in the West, North Texas SC, St Louis CITY2, and The Town FC, will have their choice from No. 5-8, with No. 4 Tacoma Defiance playing the remaining club.
The opening round of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs, the Conference Quarterfinals, will take place the weekend of October 18. The complete schedule will be announced following the selection shows.
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