MLS begins 2019 amid a massive transformation: Tenorio on the state of the league

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https://theathletic.com/840100/2019/02/26/mls-begins-2019-amid-a-massive-transformation-tenorio-on-the-state-of-the-league/

MLS begins 2019 amid a massive transformation: Tenorio on the state of the league

As MLS begins its 24th season, the league is entering a new era and occupying a more prominent place in the global soccer hierarchy. MLS has billed itself over the past few years as a league of choice, and in some key ways, it is beginning to act like it. For two decades, MLS operated beneath a ceiling of its own design. And certain league owners are beginning to push through it.

For too long and for too many, MLS was a final destination. Whether it was the so-called retirement league of David Beckham, Andrea Pirlo and Steven Gerrard or a welcome-home circuit for U.S. internationals like Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, the league was decidedly not a launching pad for big careers.

It was as though MLS executives conflated “selling league” with “stepping stone.” As a result, MLS spent its first two decades on an island, trying to build something sustainable before it ventured into the tumult of the global soccer scene. That instinct for...

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2019/02/26/mls-don-garber-reaching-new-heights/2992017002/

Major League Soccer reaching new heights, but this may only be the beginning

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Don Garber has overseen a dramatic transformation.

One which might not have been plausible 20 years ago.

Since becoming MLS commissioner in 1999, the league has grown from a dozen teams, down to 10 at one point, and now sits at 24.

When Garber started his tenure, only one MLS team had its own stadium. Today, 20 teams are playing in their own soccer-specific stadium.

Paid attendance and TV viewership reached new heights in 2018, so it’s easy to see why Garber is giddy as he begins his 20th year as commissioner, and with MLS beginning its season on Saturday, Garber is not only thinking about this year, but the possibilities ahead.

“The time will come at some point when we'll be just managing, like all other years, how you have a better season and higher ratings and higher attendance than the one you had in the past,” Garber said. “For us, it is still very much of a growth story.”

The growth will be apparent this year. FC Cincinnati begins its first season as the league's 24th team. Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF will join in 2020 and Austin FC will make it 27 MLS teams by 2021, with Garber and the rest of MLS in the process of finding its 28th team.

Currently, there are no thoughts of slowing down. 

“We're very thoughtful and strategic about expansion,” Garber said. “It's not out of need, it's out of strategic opportunity. We want to cover more of our country, we want to have more geographic regions that can be connected so that you can have rivalries between potentially a St. Louis and a Kansas City or a Los Angeles and San Jose, and being able to have those kinds of rivalries that we think can drive our fan base.”

When Garber became commissioner in 1999, he had a plan: Turn around a struggling league and bring MLS to the forefront in the U.S., and turn the league into one that can be respected and dip into the global transfer market and lure some of the top players in the world.

"I think there's no end to what this league can be," Garber said. "Not just here, but what we could represent around the world."

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-toronto-fc-put-in-deep-freeze-by-panamanians-in-champions-league/

Toronto FC put in deep freeze by Panamanians in Champions League series

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https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2019/02/26/atlantas-new-major-league-rugby-team-picks-a-name.html

Atlanta's new Major League Rugby team picks a name

Atlanta's newest sports team now has a name for when it joins Major League Rugby in the 2020 season.

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https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2019/02/27/la-galaxy-fans-encouraged-arrive-early-watch-david-beckham-statue-unveiling

LA Galaxy fans encouraged to arrive early to watch David Beckham Statue unveiling

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https://www.wcpo.com/sports/fc-cincinnati/fc-cincinnati-has-message-for-its-fans-were-going-to-fight-for-you

FC Cincinnati has message for its fans: 'We're going to fight for you'

Soccer team faces tough task in first MLS season

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http://www.thesetonian.com/2019/02/27/adams-showing-mls-development-in-the-bundesliga/

Adams showing MLS development in the Bundesliga

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https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/mls-2019-season-preview-expansion-teams-austin-fc/

The ever-expanding MLS now boasts 24 teams, with another four on the way – so how big is too big?

Canada and the USA’s combined population of just under 350 million can sustain a league of enormous proportions geographically.