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MLS commissioner Garber against biennial World Cup

There are ongoing talks about organizing a World Cup every two years, but the Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber is not in favor.

Rodrigo Serrano
Rodrigo SerranoRodASerrano
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MLS commissioner Garber against biennial World Cup

The United States is getting ready to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada and for the first time in history 48 teams will participate. As the country is getting ready for men's soccer’s most important tournament, there are ongoing talks about organizing a biennial World Cup, but the Major League Soccer commissioner is not in favor.

“No practicality to it”

"There's no practicality to it, and in my personal view, I think it dilutes what I think is the best sports event in the world," Garber said. "I sit on the World League Forum Executive Committee. We just had an announcement that was made last week.

"The World League Forum is not in support of a biennial World Cup. The impact that has on our players, on our clubs, and our leagues is something that we think would not be worth what it would take in order to, in some people's view, grow the popularity of the sport, whether it's here or any other place around the world."

Las Vegas the front runner to join the league

FIFA has been contemplating a biennial World Cup in order to create more revenue to help developing countries improve their infrastructure, among other things. Meanwhile, Garber said that Las Vegas is currently first in line to become the 30th expansion team to join the league in 2024.

There are also ongoing discussions with Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens and with Phoenix and San Diego. Garber said that a decision should be taken next year once the league has analyzed all of the bids that are presented by the different cities.

"We're excited about the market as are all leagues here in North America," Garber said. "Wes is a guy that we all have long standing relationships with, and by the way, he has looked at other MLS clubs over the years. We'll continue those discussions and continue to try to get something done within the next 10 months."

"I'm hopeful that we'll be able to get something closed," he said. "We had a timetable to get that done by the end of the year. We'll see if that's still achievable. That's only a couple of weeks away. If not, I'm hopeful we'll get something done soon."