Atlanta set for debut in expanding MLS
The theme for Major League Soccer this season is 22 in 22 as the league embarks on its 22nd year with 22 teams — including two new teams, Atlanta United and Minnesota United.
The theme could just as easily be expansion, expansion, expansion.
Launched with 10 franchises in 1996, MLS has plans to expand to 28 in the coming years. The replacement for the defunct Chivas USA, Los Angeles FC, joins the league next season. A group of backers that includes David Beckham, who spent much of the twilight of his career with the L.A. Galaxy, hope a long-anticipated Miami franchise will materialize as the league’s 24th team.
There were 12 bids submitted earlier this year for the next four teams. In a preseason interview with The Associated Press, MLS commissioner Don Garber said a decision about two of the teams could come by the end of this year and they could begin play in 2020.
“I think it’s fair to say that this year and the last number of years we’ve been very focused on strategically growing the league and celebrating new markets coming in and building a fan base, helping to create this soccer nation that we’ve been so focused on,” Garber said.
“And this year is probably no different. We’ve got a team coming in that is setting records for attendance in Atlanta, and a team in Minnesota that’s similar to Portland in that it is coming into Major League Soccer after many decades of support for the
professional game. I think you’ll continue to see more and more stories coming out of our league that are about growth, but I try to focus as much on celebrating all the great things that have gone on in so many markets for the last number of years.”
The 12 bids, along with Atlanta United’s season-ticket sales topping 30,000, are proof soccer
continues to gain a foothold in the American sports landscape.
“It just speaks to the overall development and growth of our sport in our country and Canada,” Garber said. “I continue to be impressed by how many of our clubs prove that it is irrelevant how big your market is or where it’s located. It really is about your plan, your focus, your commitment. … If the ingredients are right, I’m convinced we can be successful in any city, any state in the United States. And that’s not something we believed 10 years ago.”
The season opens tonight as Minnesota United visits the Portland Timbers for a match that will be shown on national television. The Timbers were the MLS Cup champions two years ago, but they failed to make the playoffs last season.
The Timbers have sold out every home match since joining the league in 2011, though, and their rabid fan base should make for entertaining viewing of Minnesota’s debut. The two teams played to a 2-all draw in the preseason.
The 2016 MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders visit the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night, marking the return of Clint Dempsey from a heart ailment. NYCFC visits Orlando City on Sunday evening, marking the debut of the Lions’ new soccer-specific stadium, while Atlanta makes its MLS debut later that night against the New York Red Bulls.
Atlanta is coached by Gerardo “Tata” Martino, a former coach of the Argentine national team who also had a one-year stint with Barcelona.
Atlanta signed 10 MLS veterans to help acclimate the newcomers, and key players include midfielder Miguel Almiron, goalkeeper Brad Guzan and forwards Josef Martinez and Hector Villalba. Guzan won’t join Atlanta until this summer, after he finishes the season with Middlesbrough of the English Premier League.