The theme for Major League Soccer this season is 22 in 22, as the league embarks on its 22nd year with 22 teams – including two new teams in the Atlanta United and Minnesota United.
The theme could just as easily be expansion, expansion, expansion.
Launched with 10 teams in 1996, MLS has plans to expand to 28 teams in the coming years. The replacement for the defunct Chivas USA, Los Angeles FC, joins the league next season. It is hoped that a long-anticipated Miami franchise, an effort led by David Beckham, will materialize as the league’s 24th team.
There were 12 bids submitted earlier this year for the final four teams. In a preseason interview with The Associated Press, Commissioner Don Garber said a decision about two of the teams could come by the end of this year and they could begin play in 2020, while the final two will be announced sometime thereafter.
“I think it’s fair to say that this year and the last number of years we’ve been very focused on strategically growing the league and celebrating new markets coming in and building a fan base, helping to create this soccer nation that we’ve been so focused on,” Garber said. “And this year is probably no different. We’ve got a team coming in that is setting records for attendance in Atlanta, and a team in Minnesota that’s similar to Portland in that it is coming into Major League Soccer after many decades of support for the professional game.