On the eve of the MLS Cup, MLS commissioner Don Garber released his annual state of the league remarks and press conference. Although each year’s speech begins with a reflection on the past twelve months, 2023’s litany of moments felt particularly monumental.
It was the first year of MLS’ new broadcast partnership with Apple, at dawn St. Louis City SC (the league’s 29th active franchise), the culmination of a half-decade 30-team expansion lottery awarded to San Diego, the first installment of the new-look League Cup, and record attendance for both single-game singles (82,210 in a Rose Bowl Edition of El Tráfico) and the season as a whole (10,900,804 fans throughout the year).
Oh okay: Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami, increasing the league’s visibility around the world and changing the way the league and every team facing Miami calculates its ticket valuation. Over the course of 53 minutes, Garber tackled these topics and many more ahead The crew of Columbus‘s hosting i Los Angeles FC.
Here’s what he said about five key topics, and we read what he meant.
How to do MessiHis influence lasts beyond 2025, when his contract expires
What Garber said: “I wouldn’t say it’s time for Lionel Messi to leave MLS. Is it really (about) what we want to be by 2027? We will have the eyes of the world on us (for the 2026 World Cup) and the soccer market here in the United States will be exposed to the entire global soccer and football community. What is the product we offer? This product is not just the players and the experience on the field. It’s everything about them: it’s the competition itself and the format of the competition. All of these things require an evaluation process.
So, firstly, I hope Lionel decides to stay longer than 2025, so maybe ’25 is not the deadline. Our plan is to make the league what we want to be in 2027.”
What does it mean?: Reporters came prepared with multiple approaches to asking questions along these lines, from focusing on roster rules to raising fan concerns about increased ticket prices when Inter Miami comes to town.
On the latter point, Garber pointed to the “variable ticket pricing” of other American leagues as justification for a similar approach in MLS. This would change longstanding precedent for most MLS teams, but it’s worth noting that a version of staggered pricing exists in modern times. Premier League. For a league that often straddles the line between prioritizing American sporting mores versus the global standard of soccer, it’s a rare and undeniably common conspiracy.
However, Garber did not want the league’s window of opportunity to be defined by a player’s contract. Almost every American soccer entity has had a number of initiatives focused on the upcoming 2026 men’s World Cup in North America, and the current phase of the league’s growth is no exception.
And, as a league spokesman was quick to point out: Beckham himself stayed for an additional season beyond the terms of his original contract. – Jeff Rueter
If a fourth designated player (DP) is being discussed.
What Garber said: “We don’t plan to add a fourth DP, but there will be announcements from our board meeting — which is next week — and we’ll have press availability after that with a bunch of exciting things we’re doing. Our people who are focused on what we call the product strategy, the competition committee. There will be some exciting things that we will announce next week, but everything has to go through the ownership group and we have no plans for a vote on a fourth DP.”
What does it mean: As the product strategy committee and top soccer officials debate potential roster rule changes, one thing is clear: MLS will not change from its current policy of giving each team three designated spots for players (DP).
Garber flatly denied any thought of adding another DP to the roster rules, which would allow teams another spot for high-priced players.
Sources involved in the discussions said repeatedly Athletics in recent weeks not only would there not have been a fourth DP, but it wasn’t even a topic of discussion, let alone a vote, at next week’s meeting of the MLS board of governors.
Certain players can be paid any amount, but reach the salary cap at a fixed cost. DPs over 23 are set at the maximum salary budget rate ($651,250 in 2023). IDPs between the ages of 21-23 are valued at $200,000 and IDPs younger than 21 cap at $150,000.
This does not mean that the rules will remain the same. It’s likely that an announcement of some sort of roster rule fix will come next week. – Tom Bogert
Schedule overcrowding
What Garber said: “I think the biggest challenge of any league around the world is schedule management. Unlike every league here in North America, we do not control that schedule entirely. Our playoffs are an example of that, as an (international window) comes in the middle of our playoffs.
“We’re going to adapt and find the right way to change, whether it’s changing the roster, whether it’s him participating in some tournaments and not others, or whether it’s how we can manage the schedule to give those teams that have more congestion and the opportunity to have a little more time between games.
What does it mean: On Saturday, LAFC will extend their single-season record for games played by an MLS team to 53, a talking point that has caused frustration across the league. Steve Cherundolo, LAFC’s head coach, has expressed his displeasure with the overcrowding of fixtures on several occasions – suggesting a combination of long-distance travel and roster-building constraints left his side unable to seriously compete in all fronts. Here, Garber points to overcrowding as an issue affecting leagues around the world, which is true. However, those in the elite leagues that compete in continental competitions do not have the travel or roster frustrations that MLS clubs face in most cases.
As Garber alludes to, there is potential for the league to consider changes to participation in certain tournaments, potentially referring to the US Open Cup, which is an event sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation. With the expansion of the Leagues Cup and the investment from Apple and MLS in that tournament, Garber referred to the potential for “a new plan” regarding the format in collaboration with the USSF. – Elias Burke
Safety of referee and fans
What Garber said: “The safety of our fans, players and officials is a massive priority for our league and should be a priority for everyone, whether they’re the people who get to decide the rules and regulations or the discipline when those rules are broken.”
“We’ve never had a player walk into the locker room in the history of this league and a player walked into our locker room this year. This does not take anything away from the character of the player, there are times when passion gets the best of people, but this cannot be tolerated. In the end, it was a hard price to pay.”
What does it mean: Matt MiazgaThe 2023 MLS Defender of the Year was suspended by the league for three games (incl FC CincinnatiColumbus Crew loss in the Eastern Conference Finals) for entering the referee’s locker room after receiving two yellow cards during a strong series win against New York Red Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. The sanction, and this address from Garber, enforced the point that pushing the boundaries will not be tolerated for the officials, who he described as “outstanding professionals who perform at the highest level.”
The fan safety reference appears to allude to the league’s sanctions against LAFC and the 3252 supporters group after flames were lit in the crowd before the Western Conference final, causing a cloud of smoke to cover the pitch at BMO Stadium and delaying kick-off. .
Supporters’ group members have expressed disappointment at the decision, citing marketing campaigns by the league and Apple TV+ using images of the 3,252 flaming and cheering demonstration from last year’s MLS Cup final. While the details of the sanctions have not yet been released, 3252 will have all supporter privileges indefinitely suspended for the 2024 season pending completion of MLS and LAFC’s comprehensive review, and the club was fined $100,000 for failing to comply with required protocols of safety. – Elias Burke
Seeing Anthony Precourt’s attempt at crew movement in Austin and fan movement in opposition
What Garber said: “As you can imagine, when you’re here, you’re reflecting on that — whether it’s me, my office, all the people we work together, managing all the challenges we went through to get to that five-year notice. ago to get to where we are today.
We had said from the beginning that if we are thoughtful, if we have patience, we will get through this and there will be a good result. Going through that process was not one I would have hoped to have to go through again, but when I look at where we are today: we have a stadium (Lower.com Field) that is one of the best football stadiums in the league our, if not the best small football stadium in the world. We have a team that is performing extremely well. We have tons of fans who now have more to engage with and cheer for. We have more sponsors for the team than we had before. We have more political and communal support than we had before. We have an ownership commitment that is at the highest level. If we had to go through it again and end up where we are today, we would.
I will say that – maybe it’s not the most popular thing for Columbus to say – we’re really proud of what’s going on in Austin. They’ve done a good job, they’ve built a great stadium, they’ve got a successful team and they’re part of this global movement to show what Major League Soccer can be in the markets – even when you have to go through some trauma. to get there.”
What does it mean: On Saturday, the Columbus Crew will host an MLS Cup final for the second time since the Haslem and Edwards families took over the club from Precourt, but the first time at Lower.com Field, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2021. together with AustinHis strong off-field impact from his debut in 2021 (including his new stadium) through to last year’s conference finals turned what once looked like one of the league’s darkest moments into the origins of the two success of very different degrees.
Austin is among the standard bearers for a recently formed mid-market club. Their stadium remains best-in-class — though the league and its owners often say it’s at least 10 of its venues — while making a real mark on the Austin community from its artists to its business. In Columbus, there is an undeniable example of taking one of the original clubs of the league and giving it a shine to keep pace with the newcomers. It is a case study that will surely be studied by clubs like New England as they work towards building their home and hopefully for the sake of their fans Chicago Fire while the honeymoon phase of the Joe Mansueto era erodes due to mediocrity on the field.
Just over five years ago, the league was on the verge of losing a founding member. Instead, it has brought Columbus back to the forefront of the domestic soccer landscape. – Jeff Rueter
(Photo: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports)
