MLS Heads Into 14th Season With Momentum From Expansion Teams

Garber Discusses Issues Facing MLS As It Begins Its 14th Season

MLS Commissioner Don Garber appeared on ESPN’s halftime coverage of Thursday night’s Red Bulls-Sounders FC match and discussed several issues facing the league as it begins its 14th season in earnest Saturday. The league Friday is scheduled to announce Portland as the latest expansion team after announcing Vancouver’s entry into the league Wednesday. Garber said, “We’re going to have a great rivalry with a number of cities here in the Pacific Northwest. … We’re excited about it and I think it’s going to speak wonders for what this sport can be here.” He said the league amid the current economic situation needs “to be mindful of how we manage our business.” However, he added, “This is a business for the long-term. … It speaks volumes about the commitments that our owners have made in the past and the hopes and commitment that these new guys have for the future. We’ll continue to be careful. We’ll add a few more teams, but we’re going to continue this strategic careful growth pattern.” Garber also touched on the David Beckham situation, noting Beckham will not be a “one-man stimulus package” when he returns to the league from AC Milan in July. Garber: “This was a complicated process. It’s worked out in a way that’s good for David, it’s good for the Galaxy, it’s good for (MLS). … At some point it will just be another one of those chapters in the long history book of (MLS).” He added, “You’ve got to look at the reality of what this business is about. It’s either getting some of David Beckham or getting none of David Beckham. I’d much rather be where we are and have him for the second half of the season and hopefully a couple of more years after that which was not guaranteed in his first contract” (“Red Bulls-Sounders FC,” ESPN2, 3/19).

MAKING NICE PROGRESS: BLEACHERREPORT.com’s Patrick Johnston writes, “All things considered, the MLS is doing well.” Adding franchises during a “global recession and having teams get soccer specific stadiums to cement their place in their communities is fantastic.” There “appears to be an overall general financial health and well being across the board,” for which MLS management "is to be commended.” But to “say that MLS has ambitions to compete on a global scale is farfetched indeed.” There is “so much left to be done on the field before even considering a dip into international comparisons” (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 3/19).