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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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