Miami (AFP) – Major League Soccer’s 30th season gets underway this weekend with Lionel Messi in action, and the league’s newest club, San Diego FC, making their debut. With the World Cup being hosted in the USA, Canada, and Mexico in 2026, MLS is hoping to capture some of the buzz around the sport in a season that will see Messi’s Miami and the Seattle Sounders feature in the new FIFA Club World Cup in June.
“I think the US and North America will become an even more important player on the global soccer, football landscape,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said on Wednesday at the premiere of a new Apple TV docuseries on the league. “The World Cup is going to raise the attention of the sport in ways that nobody ever dreamed of. And I tell people who don’t understand soccer or MLS, they have no idea how big the World Cup’s going to be,” he said.
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The league is in the third year of their global broadcast deal with Apple TV, which Garber describes as “innovative.” They have sought to broaden their reach with a series of deals with the likes of T-Mobile, DirecTV, and Comcast to make it easier for fans to watch games. This season will also feature ‘Sunday Night Soccer’ matches, showcasing the game of the week in the league, as the league hopes to break further into the American sporting mainstream.
A rule change allowing straight cash transfer deals between MLS clubs has made for a more lively transfer market during the winter off-season. Argentine Luciano Acosta has moved from Cincinnati to Dallas, with Portland’s Brazilian midfielder Evander replacing him at the Ohio club.
Atlanta United have invested heavily to bring back Paraguayan forward Miguel Almiron from Newcastle and broke the MLS transfer record by splashing out $22 million on Ivorian striker Emmanuel Latte Lath from Middlesbrough. Charlotte have brought in former Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray, while there have been several changes on the bench, with former USA coaches Bruce Arena (San Jose) and Gregg Berhalter (Chicago) returning to the league.
However, the focus will remain on Messi and his former Barcelona teammates under new coach Javier Mascherano at Miami. Last year, Miami smashed the regular season points record but then crashed out to Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. Coach Gerardo Martino left the club, but the experienced core of ex-Barca players—Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez—remain. Suarez expressed that it hurt the team to end last season empty-handed after dominating much of the year.
“We had broken the points record, but football is not about awards; it’s about what you do on the field. We were the best team the entire regular season, we needed to show that in that playoff game against Atlanta, and we didn’t. We have to learn from that and be reminded that nobody gives you anything. We were left with a bittersweet feeling.”
Miami kicks off the season on Saturday against New York City FC, and Garber believes Messi will continue to bring renewed focus on the league. “He has really been a game-changer for our league and for our sport, getting us recognition around the world,” said Garber.
However, the Argentine World Cup winner is heading into the final year of his contract, with no word yet on whether he will extend his deal to run up to the next World Cup. “That’s up to Leo and Inter Miami,” said Garber, “I have no idea how that plays out, honestly,” he added.
San Diego’s first MLS game, as the league’s 30th club, is a tough one—on the road at defending champions Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday. The southern California club has signed Mexican former Napoli winger Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano from PSV Eindhoven, as part of a squad featuring players from 14 countries.
© 2024 AFP
