Born again in the usa
Charting the rise of the MLS
The Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 have all been unchallenged in their positions as the top five leagues in world football. But now it seems as though there may be competition from a surprise division.
Major League Soccer is one of the newest top flight divisions having entered their 19th campaign in March. Although that is a short amount of time, its 18 years in existence is the longest time a national professional soccer league has been operating in the United States.
The MLS, when founded as part of the bid for the US to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup, was not expected to be a success and it lived up to its low expectations to start with. But it has gone from strength to strength in the last five years.
In 2000, the average attendance for an MLS regular season fixture was 13,756. By the end of the 2013 campaign, that average had increased to 18,608. Seattle Sounders’ support should be given a special mention, as it seems as though the people of Washington State love their soccer. The Sounders’ average attendance is 44,000 – more than the majority of Premier League clubs. Seattle have also set MLS attendance records for the past five seasons and the club have been able to use that money to attract Clint Dempsey, one of the US national team’s greatest players, back across the pond in a deal worth $33m.
Before the start of the current cam- paign, the likes of Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley secured transfers to the up-andcoming league, as they were unveiled at Toronto FC. They join the illustrious list of world-renowned football stars such as Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane, Rafael Marquez, Juan Pablo Angel and the recently retired David Beckham who moved Stateside. So, it seems as though the MLS is now able to attract star quality both during the peak of their careers and when legends are coming towards the end of theirs.
The number of American cities wanting to get involved has risen too. Although New York already boasts a team in the Red Bulls, they will be rivalled by New York City FC from next year as a partnership between baseball giants New York Yankees and Manchester City has resulted in a further expansion in the MLS.
Soccer will also be returning to Florida, the Sunshine State, in time for the next campaign. Orlando City will join New York City to expand the MLS to 21 teams and the city is currently doing all it can to build a soccer-specific stadium in time for next March. But the biggest news came in February when it was confirmed that former Los Angeles Galaxy and England captain Beckham will form an MLS franchise in Miami. The team, still to be given an official name, are hoping to be ready to join the MLS in 2016, but Beckham must first find somewhere in downtown Miami to build a stadium.
That may be prove to be a difficult task for the man with the record number of caps for an outfield England player, but he has guaranteed that a stadium will only be built downtown.
With the league expanding in size and welcoming players of greater quality, Major League Soccer is becoming a real force. US TV companies have recognised the improvement in the MLS’ fortunes as they have negotiated a deal to broadcast as many MLS games as possible. The MLS have reportedly agreed a new deal with sports broadcasting giants ESPN and Fox worth a staggering $70m, an amount that has been offered to broadcast only the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL in the past. Univision, a Spanishspeaking television channel, has also gained rights to the MLS.
One downside is that MLS commissioner Don Garber has admitted the league is losing between $75m and $100m every year. That makes it all the more astonishing that Forbes magazine revealed that ten of the 19 MLS teams were making a profit, with two others breaking even last year. Seattle Sounders again stand out, deemed to be worth $175m. It has taken time for the MLS to get the ball rolling, but it could become a major force in world football within the next decade.