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Major
League Soccer is the top tier of professional soccer in North America; the league
consists of teams located in the United States and
Canada. The United States Soccer Federation and the
Canadian Soccer Federation’s
professional divisions sanction the league through their affiliation
with FIFA, the international governing body of soccer.
Major
League Soccer has demonstrated the planning and league-wide
controls that are making the league a success
and its franchises profitable.
The development of soccer-specific stadiums and world-class American
players is made possible by the vision and commitment of MLS fans,
investors, executives, staffs, coaches and players. This commitment
has clearly enabled the United States to be recognized across the globe
as a formidable soccer nation. MLS leads the charge, having built a
solid foundation and unprecedented momentum for the sport, continuing
to forge ahead towards its vision of becoming the world's best soccer
league and one of America's premier sports and entertainment properties.
Major
League Soccer strives to unite soccer's young, ethnic,
digital and hard-core fans in the U.S., fueling their
passion and providing
aspiration - and inspiration - to a rapidly expanding soccer culture.
Major
League Soccer's on-field product is proving itself
in various international competitions for club and
country. The unlikely success
of the 2002 Men’s National Team during the World Cup in South
Korea is the greatest example of the MLS’s influence on the success
of American soccer. D.C. United’s victories in the 1998 CONCACAF
Champions Cup was the first statement that MLS and its American players
would be competitive with clubs from around the world. For the first
time in nearly a generation, the 80 million soccer-affected Americans
who love “The Beautiful Game” have the opportunity to
see, touch and feel the approachable heroes of MLS simply by turning
on
the TV, opening a newspaper or walking into an MLS stadium.
Each
year the league's quality of play has improved. MLS
takes great pride in its role of developing young American
players, providing
depth for the U.S. Men’s National Team and the increased
targeting of MLS talent by the world's most storied soccer clubs.
In addition to
developing world stars of its own, MLS rosters include players
from all six international Confederations, representing many
countries from
around the globe. The truly diverse League proves that the international
language that rises above all barriers is that of soccer/football.
MLS Display in the Soccer Hall
Millions
of fans representing a true cross-section of America
have attended MLS matches, a testament to the popularity of
the world's
game in the United States. In recent years the MLS has moved
forward by implementing many European soccer traditions. The
league’s
franchises have moved away from traditional American sport
nicknames and have started using names similar to international
clubs such as
FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, and Chivas USA. Several of the teams
have developed relationships with teams from other countries
to share expertise
in the development of players and in the marketing of the sport.
From
the league's diverse fan base to its unique mix of
American and international stars on the field, MLS
represents the inclusion
of many
different cultures that now thrive in today's ever-changing
society.
In
2007, for the first time in league history, the MLS
signed contracts for the televising of its games that
include broadcast
rights fees
paid to the league. The deal, brokered by the league’s
marketing body Soccer United Marketing, pays $20 million
annually to the league
for the next eight years. Rights to televise MLS matches
have been sold to ESPN/ABC, Fox Soccer Channel, Univision,
and HDNet.
Major
League Soccer has allowed the sport to enjoy unprecedented
success during the league’s development, in the
stands, on television and among the League's numerous
commercial affiliates. MLS will continue
to make exciting and important strides to establish soccer's
viability as a business, an entertainment property, and
most importantly, as
a sport institution in the United States.
For
more history on the MLS, visit the MLS
history page.
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