MLS
Don Garber: “MLS is set for further growth in the coming years”
The MLS commissioner spoke to ‘The Athletic’ about the potential growth of the league and how it will impact from the 2026 World Cup.
The MLS continues to grow but on a sporting level and also in terms of global profile. In recent years, the organisation has been trying to remove that “retirement league” stigma and become one of the dominant leagues in the global game. In an interview with The Athletic, Don Garber, MLS commissioner commented on how the profile of the league has changed internationally and how the competition will benefit from the 2026 World Cup.
“The reputation and respect for our league outside the United States is actually greater than within this country,” commented Garber. “The rest of the world watches the stability of the league, the growth of the league, the energy, the investment behind it. “We have built a soccer ecosystem in this country over a relatively short period of time, and all that momentum will continue to grow over the coming summers,” Garber analyzed.
“There is no doubt now that the United States has become the ATM of the football world. “We have raised the commercial value of sport in our country in such a way that it is now perhaps the most valuable football market from a commercial point of view,” he concluded. And the United States has become the favorite destination for the best European teams to carry out their summer preseason tours. From the Premier League Summer Series to the Soccer Champions Tour, the money raised by teams on North American soil is a great injection into their coffers.
World Cup 2026: “I don’t think FIFA expects us to play a full schedule during the 2026 World Cup but the tournament will create a series of challenges, but we have been dealing with challenges for almost 30 years.”
Change in the MLS economy: “I've heard a lot about how we need to change our rosters. "When you think about what our spending has been in the past to where it is now, it's been a dramatic increase, so I'm not quite sure what everyone is expecting."
Inter Miami’s financial problems: “We have been trying to solve it. We discussed this a lot internally. And some members of our group think that all leagues have roster rules, the difference is that they have been living by those roster rules. In the NFL the labels of ‘Franchise Player’ are only part of the American lexicon. The fans accept it. There will be more transparency, I promise you. We will make it easier.”