Attracting more people and turning them into supporters for the MLS is something that the American League has been doing superbly well and this can be evidenced by the rapid growth that the MLS is experiencing specially in the year of 2014 where huge feats and events were made but the future is expected to be brighter for the Major League Soccer as new teams will be entering but the MLS Deputy Commissioner, Mark Abbott believes that the amount of clubs that are going to be arriving should be strategic instead of simply adding more and more.
“When we started the league, we did a lot to study all the other professional sports leagues, and we studied the North American Soccer League, specifically. We were concerned not about the ultimate size but the rapidness of the expansion. When we think about expansion, we try to think about it strategically.” Mark Abbott told reporters.
The MLS currently has 19 teams but it’s expecting to be increased to 24 teams by 2020 however, Abbott stated that this should not be increased without actually planning out certain things concerning the league as it’s not the best decision to just keep on adding clubs without taking into consideration the negative impact that it can bring by adding teams at a fast pace.
Orlando City will be joining the MLS in the next season as well as a second New York Team while Atlanta is expected to be making their way into the league in 2017. David Beckham is hoping to get his team fully structured as fast as possible but the Englishman has to wait until he gets a stadium deal for his Miami franchise expansion team.