The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
MLS celebrates 22 teams in 22 years
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 in the Atlanta United and Minnesota United.
The theme could just as easily be expansion, expansion, expansion.
Launched with 10 teams in 1996, MLS has plans to expand to 28 teams in the coming years. The replacement for the defunct Chivas USA, Los Angeles FC, joins the league next season. It is hoped that a long-anticipated Miami franchise, an effort led by David Beckham, will materialize as the league’s 24th team.
There were 12 bids submitted earlier this year for the final four teams. In a preseason interview with The Associated Press, 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, while the final two will be announced sometime thereafter.
“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 seasonticket sales topping 30,000, are proof that 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.”