By Frank Pingue<\/p>\n
Feb 20 (Reuters) \u2013 Don Garber has seen a lot in his 26 years leading Major League Soccer, but even the league\u2019s commissioner admits he has never witnessed anything quite like this moment.<\/p>\n
As MLS prepares to kick off its 31st season on Saturday, the league finds itself at the intersection of two seismic forces: a World Cup returning to North America and riding the wave of Lionel Messi mania \u200bthat has swept through American soccer since the Argentine legend\u2019s arrival in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a massive year for MLS and a seminal moment \u200cfor soccer, not just in the United States but throughout North America,\u201d Garber told Reuters.<\/p>\n
The World Cup, which will see MLS take a seven-week break in the middle of the season as players report to their respective national teams, represents what Garber calls \u201cthe biggest sporting event in the history of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
HOPES WORLD CUP HELPS BUILD LEGACY<\/p>\n
But for him, it is about more than just five-and-a-half weeks of World Cup action \u2013 it is about building something that lasts and maximizing the tournament\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile everybody is going to be paying attention to what is going to be \u200cthe biggest \u200bsporting event in the history of this country, we hope that some of that drama, some of that \u2060appeal, some of that history, could rub off \u2060and create a lasting legacy,\u201d Garber said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about taking the great game, the beautiful game of soccer, and putting a bunch of energy behind it so that we can continue to do our part in helping to lead the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
What has changed since the 1994 World Cup was held on American soil is MLS\u2019 relationship with the U.S. men\u2019s national team.<\/p>\n
Garber said that \u201cback in the day,\u201d a deep American run would have been essential to \u200bgrowing the game domestically. Now, with players from over 70 countries and games broadcast in multiple languages, the league has evolved beyond that dependency.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s going to be millions and millions of people that are supporting the U.S. men\u2019s national team, and there\u2019ll be millions of people that are supporting other countries. And they\u2019re \u2060all either coming to our country and will go back and hopefully be fans of the \u2060game, or they\u2019re living here supporting their own culture, their own nationality,\u201d Garber said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we believe that we\u2019re a league \u200bfor a new America.\u201d<\/p>\n
OPTIMISTIC ABOUT MLS WINNING FANS\u2019 TRUST<\/p>\n
Still, Garber acknowledges the league faces persistent skepticism. Asked about the biggest misconception about MLS, which has grown to 30 \u200bteams that Forbes said have an average value of $731 million, he did not hesitate: some people still do not think the \u200cleague measures up to more established competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of that is when people come into the game, they\u2019re coming into it by following the European leagues, or they\u2019re coming into it following the World Cup and following national teams, and they may not be as exposed to their local MLS club as we need to make them be. That falls on us to do that,\u201d said Garber.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously, the plan has been working. It has been a slow build. It hasn\u2019t happened overnight. You know, \u2060we\u2019re entering our 31st year. That\u2019s not an overnight sensation, but certainly not around the 100 years that the other leagues are around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet Garber remains optimistic, even bullish, about where the league is headed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur best days, our best years, in my opinion, are still ahead,\u201d said Garber. \u201cAnd I think we\u2019ll earn the trust and respect \u2060of the fans of this sport, like we have \u200cearned the trust and respect of great players, the best player in the history of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
WAVE OF GLOBAL ATTENTION \u2060ON SOCCER<\/p>\n
That last reference was, of course, Messi, the record eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner as best player whose \u200bimpact on MLS \u200chas exceeded even Garber\u2019s lofty expectations.<\/p>\n
Since Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023, he has transformed MLS\u2019s global profile almost \u200bovernight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you know \u2060football, and almost everybody in the world does, you know Leo Messi, and you know now that he plays in MLS for Inter Miami,\u201d Garber said.<\/p>\n
As MLS enters what Garber calls its most important year yet, the league that once struggled for legitimacy now finds itself positioned to capitalize on a perfect storm of global attention. Whether that attention translates into lasting growth will be the story that unfolds over the next several months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just about the summer. It\u2019s about all the lead up, it\u2019s about the activity during the tournament itself,\u201d said Garber. \u201cAnd then it\u2019s coming out of the tournament \u2026 and riding the wave of a lot of soccer energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Frank \u200bPingue in Toronto; Editing by Alison Williams)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Frank Pingue Feb 20 (Reuters) \u2013 Don Garber has seen a lot in his 26 years leading…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-489182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}