New York (AFP) – Larry Berg, who will succeed Don Garber as Major League Soccer commissioner next year, said Tuesday the league is poised to reach the “next level” and he’s excited to try to get it there.
“We have this great opportunity to get to that next level in MLS,” Berg said. “To be leading that charge is a lifelong dream.” MLS owners on Monday selected Berg as the third commissioner in league history. He’ll take over from Don Garber, who succeeded Doug Logan back in 1999. Garber will continue in the role through the rest of the year, and after Berg takes the reins on January 1, will transition to league chairman.
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Berg, a co-owner of Los Angeles FC who has co-chaired MLS’s Sporting and Competition Committee, made it clear at his introductory press conference that his remit is continued growth. “Over the last 30 years, we’ve done a lot of things right,” Berg said. “The infrastructure part was A-plus. We have the foundation. We have the stadiums, we have the training facilities, we have the academies, we have MLS NEXT Pro. If we can put on top of that some forward thinking and some other things that make us more exciting and more competitive, then I think we’ll be in great shape.”
The league is aiming to capitalize on the excitement generated in the United States by the recently concluded World Cup. MLS is also heading into a period of change as it transitions from its current February-December schedule into a season that aligns with most football leagues worldwide. The change will see a February-to-May campaign in 2027, dubbed the “MLS Sprint Season.” That will set the stage for the kickoff of the 2027-28 season in July 2027, concluding with the 2028 MLS Cup in May 2028.
Other issues that will face Berg are proposed changes to roster and salary cap rules, a new collective bargaining agreement with players, and a new media-rights deal, with the current agreement with Apple TV ending in mid-2029. During Garber’s tenure, MLS survived serious financial challenges in the 2000s to grow to 30 clubs and saw 26 new football stadiums built. Five clubs are now valued at more than $1 billion according to Forbes. That includes Inter Miami, co-owned by David Beckham and currently featuring Lionel Messi playing in Miami’s new Nu Stadium. The others are LAFC, LA Galaxy, Atlanta United, and New York City FC.
Under league rules, Berg will give up his ownership interest in LAFC, but while there he helped put the Southern California club among the league’s elite, winning the MLS Cup in 2022 and nabbing the Supporters’ Shield as the top team in the overall regular season standings in 2019 and 2022. Berg said he’ll conduct a league-wide “listening tour” to seek feedback from owners, players, staff, and sponsors on how the league should evolve. “This wouldn’t be very interesting to me if a big part of the league was for status quo,” Berg said. “They’re not. They want to move forward and they want change. How they do that change differs; their priorities differ. But people want to move this league forward and they want to lean in. My job is to figure out the best way to do that.”
© 2024 AFP
