What Does MP Mean in Soccer? Every Table Abbreviation Explained

MP means matches played. That's it. It's the first number after a team's name in most soccer standings, and it tells you how many games that team has played so far this season. You'll also see it written as P (played) or GP (games played). Same thing.

The rest of the table is a bit of an alphabet soup, though, so here's every column you're likely to run into.

Soccer table abbreviations

How do points work in soccer?

A win is worth three points, a draw is worth one and a loss gets you nothing. So a team with 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss has 23 points. Simple enough.

Here's where it trips people up: wins don't decide the order, points do. A team that draws a lot can sit above a team with more wins, as long as it has more points.

What happens when teams are level on points?

That's what goal difference is for. In the Premier League, teams level on points are split by goal difference first, then by goals scored. Not every league does it that way. La Liga, for example, looks at the head-to-head record between the teams first.

So yes, a 5-0 win can matter a lot more than a 1-0 win come May.

Why do some tables show fewer columns?

Space. On a phone, a lot of sites drop GF and GA and just keep goal difference. Our tables, for example, show P, W, D, L, GD and Pts. Everything you need, nothing you don't.

Common questions

What does MP mean in soccer?

Matches played. It's the number of games a team has played so far in the season.

What does GD mean in soccer?

Goal difference: goals scored minus goals conceded. A team that has scored 20 and let in 8 has a goal difference of +12.

What does D mean in a soccer table?

Drawn. A draw is what Americans would usually call a tie, and it's worth one point.

Want to see it in action? Check the live Premier League standings or the Champions League table. Both update during games.