The Philadelphia Union are the 2025 MLS Supporters’ Shield champions.
The Union clinched the trophy Saturday night with a 1-0 win over New York City FC. That leaves them with 66 points, a total no other MLS team can catch as the regular season reaches its final days.
Mikael Uhre scored the game’s lone goal in the 40th minute.
As a result, Philadelphia has clinched a place in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, a continental tournament that is the answer to Europe’s Champions League for teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The Union also will participate in the 2026 Leagues Cup, a tournament conducted between the best teams in MLS and Mexico’s first division, Liga MX.
It also sets the Union — who will finish the season having lost just once in 17 home games (12W-4D-1L) — up with home field through the entire MLS Cup playoffs. If the Union can come through the Eastern Conference gauntlet, they will host this year’s MLS championship final at Subaru Park on Dec. 6.
Here’s what to know about the Philadelphia Union’s 2025 MLS Supporters’ Shield title:
What is the Supporters’ Shield in MLS?
The simple answer is that the MLS Supporters’ Shield is a trophy given to the regular-season champion.
Now, as to why this is a particularly big deal, you have to realize that MLS occupies a unique space. In the U.S., playoffs are a hallowed tradition. Whether we’re talking about the ongoing MLB playoffs or a month-long epic like March Madness, American fans have been looking forward to the tension that comes from all-or-nothing playoff series for decades.
Meanwhile, in soccer the object is creating the most accurate picture of which team is best. That means creating a balanced schedule where a given team will play every other team in their league twice (once at home, once away), with the team that finishes top of the table crowned the champion.
With a nod in both of those directions, the league has more than one trophy that teams and fans generally consider to be major achievements. While it’s generally accepted that MLS Cup (the trophy you get for being the last team standing at the end of the playoffs) is the top target, the Supporters’ Shield is seen as a measure of who constructed the most complete, consistent team.
Supporters’ Shield past winners
Here is a breakdown of Supporters’ Shield winners throughout MLS’s 30 seasons:
- D.C. United: 4 (1997, 1999, 2006, 2007)
- LA Galaxy: 4 (1998, 2002, 2010, 2011)
- Columbus Crew: 3 (2004, 2008, 2009)
- New York Red Bulls: 3 (2013, 2015, 2018)
- San Jose Earthquakes: 2 (2005, 2012)
- Los Angeles FC: 2 (2019, 2022)
- Philadelphia Union: 2 (2020, 2025)
- Tampa Bay Mutiny: 1 (1996)*
- Sporting Kansas City: 1 (2000)
- Miami Fusion: 1 (2001)*
- Chicago Fire: 1 (2003)
- Seattle Sounders: 1 (2014)
- FC Dallas: 1 (2016)
- Toronto FC: 1 (2017)
- New England Revolution: 1 (2021)
- FC Cincinnati: 1 (2023)
- Inter Miami: 1 (2024)
An asterisk (*) denotes a team that no longer exists.
