All to know about the 2024 MLS Cup as Messi seeks title with Inter Miami

The 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) season in North America is heading towards its conclusion, with the region’s top club football teams vying for a chance to lift the coveted MLS Cup.
The 2024 tournament is expected to attract a wider global audience with the inclusion of football icon Lionel Messi’s team, Inter Miami, who have qualified for the playoffs for the first time.
Here’s everything you need to know about the MLS Cup:
The 29 MLS teams are divided into two conferences – eastern and western – and play a series of home and away matches in a league format, known as the regular season.
The team at the top of the league at the end of the regular season is awarded the Supporters’ Shield – won by Messi’s Inter Miami in 2024 – and the league then moves towards the MLS Cup.
Known as the pinnacle of the North American football season, the MLS Cup crowns the MLS champion after a series of knockout games – known in North American sports as playoffs.
The top seven teams from each conference automatically make it to the playoffs. The eighth club in each conference is determined through a wildcard playoff between the next two sides in each conference, respectively.
The playoffs are played by conference and the eastern and western winners then meet for the MLS Cup final at the end of the season.
In the quarterfinals of each conference, teams must win a best-of-three series of matches to advance. There are no aggregate scores and no ties at that stage. The team that finishes higher in the league hosts the first match. In the case of a draw, the game goes directly to penalty kicks – no extra time.
The conference semifinals, finals and MLS Cup final return to the single-game format with possible extra time before penalties. These games will be hosted by the higher-seeded club.
Eastern Conference:
Western Conference:
The draw for the eight best-of-three quarterfinal games looks like this:
Eastern bracket:
Western bracket:

By winning the Supporters’ Shield, Inter Miami have won the right to host the final as long as they remain in contention for the title-deciding match.
Should Miami get knocked out before the final, the team with the next best in-season [league] record that remains in the MLS Cup will host the final.
The Argentinian superstar has been in scintillating goal-scoring form for Inter Miami since his return from injury and is expected to lead them in the best-of-three knockout games against Atlanta United.
While on the field playing during Miami’s MLS Cup games, the forward will wear a special camera on his shirt, which will relay his every move on a TikTok livestream on the MLS and Inter Miami channels.