Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer Overview

Major League Soccer is the major professional soccer league in North America, and is known simply as the MLS. It is the top tier of the pyramid that includes the various soccer organisations across the continent, and is the only entirely professional league. It currently boasts 14 teams, although this number will increased to 15 in 2009, and 16 in 2010. It is hoped that 18 professional teams can be operational by 2012. The following clubs are currently in the league (organised into two conferences):

Eastern Conference
Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, DC United, Kansas City Wizards, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC

Western Conference
Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes

In the next two seasons, teams will also be created in Philadelphia and Seattle, although these are as yet unnamed.

MLS History

Major League Soccer (MLS) was officially formed on December 17th, 1993 in preparation for the following year’s World Cup. The US Soccer Federation had promised FIFA that they would make serious efforts towards instituting a high-level professional league in the country if they were awarded the hosting for the 1994 World Cup. It was expected that interest in the sport would rise greatly following the staging of the tournament in the States, and that this would give the league a good starting basis. It kicked off for the first time in early 1996 with just 10 teams, who attracted decent attendances. As with other sports in the country, teams were divided into two conferences, and the original 10 teams that took part were:

Eastern Conference
Columbus Crew, DC United, New England Revolution, NY/NJ Metrostars, Tampa Bay Mutiny

Western Conference
Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn, Kansas City Wizards, LA Galaxy, San Jose Clash

Problems/Restructuring
However the sport never really took off, and the quality of play in the league had been generally poor and uninteresting. This was confirmed by Team USA’s poor performance at the 1998 World Cup, something which speeded up the MLS’s decline. The league had also proved to be less interesting than hoped, and slightly uncompetitive, as DC United coach Bruce Arena emerged as an early stalwart, winning 3 out of four MLS championships. Attendances lowered steadily after the first season, the MLS was losing money, and league had to change its strategy. They hired a new commissioner, Don Garber, who made it his mission to improve the MLS’ financial situation, as well as build “soccer-specific” stadiums, which would improve the atmosphere of the matches. This managed to improve the situation somewhat, but it was Bruce Arena who returned to deliver a tremendous boost. It was under his management that the US national team reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, and it once again led to an increase in the popularity of the game. The MLS Cup final, held a few months after the World Cup final, had a record sellout crowd watch the LA Galaxy winning the trophy. Additionally, the league also now had a star in Landon Donovan, who returned home from Germany to join the San Jose Earthquakes after his exploits in Japan and Korea. The league had also started to focus on the development of American players, and the Nike-led worldwide hype of 14-year old Freddy Adu also saw interest in the league grow when he joined DC United. Although not as bad as before, the league however continued to stagnate. The quality of soccer player remained poor and despite some decent players (including several from Central America), the league lacked real star quality. The best youngsters like Tim Howard and DaMarcus Beasley had left for Europe, and another mediocre showing at the 2006 World Cup saw the MLS forced to once again take stock.

Designated Players & David Beckham
This saw the creation of the designated player rule, where teams could sign one star player whose salary did not count towards the salary cap (but which was met at the team’s own expense). It was designed to attract some of the more famous players from around the world who were earning much higher wages, and it was this that set the stage for the MLS’s biggest marketing exercise – the signing of superstar David Beckham for LA Galaxy on a $250 million, five year contract. Every LA Galaxy away game in the country after his arrival date was sold out, despite the fact that he was earning about five-thousand times the average MLS wage, it was this celebrity effect that the league had counted on. The also added other big names around the league, such as: Juan Pablo Ángel, Marcelo Gallardo, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Denílson, Claudio Reyna, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Ronald Waterreus, and Abel Xavier. Unfortunately Beckham was injured for most of his first season, so the full effect of his acquisition is yet to be seen. But there were a few promising markers for the MLS – the expansion to multi-cultural Toronto, a first step into the more soccer-savvy Canada, saw 16,000 season tickets sold in a 21,000 capacity stadium. The BMO Field averaged about 20,000 supporters a game, easily the highest in the league, and has once again sold all its season tickets, despite a poor first season. The designated players also proved to be great successes, and this has been supplemented for the coming season with the cheap acquisitions of many talented young Latin Americans.

League Format

The MLS maintains an ethos of North American sport, with a playoff system at the end of the season deciding the champion (in the MLS Cup), unlike most other leagues where the team placed first at the end of the year is considered to be the winner. In 2008, 14 teams will be split into two conferences, with each team playing 30 regular season games. At the end of the season, eight teams will qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs – the top three in each conference, plus two other team with most points after 30 games (irrespective of their conference). The winner of the MLS Cup qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, and there is also talk of a berth in the Copa Sudamericana.

League Trophies

The MLS Cup is the most prestigious trophy in the MLS, awarded to the eventual winners of the playoffs. However the team with the best regular season record receives what is known as the “Supporters’ Shield”.

Recognition and Awards

Most League Goals of All Time

Most League Appearances

League Management

Commissioner: Don Garber

Sponsors

Media Coverage

Important Links

References