MLS set to review expansion explications

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has revealed that teams 25 and 26 will be announced during the second or third quarter of 2017 at an expansion fee of $150 million each and will begin playing by 2020, with teams 27 and 28 to be added at a later date.

The MLS currently consists of 20 sides, with Atlanta United and Minnesota United to be added next season as the league expands to 22.

LAFC are due to make it 23 in 2018, with an expansion team in Miami to take the amount of teams to 24 at an as of yet unconfirmed date.

It does not end there, though, as Garber has made it clear there is plenty of interest from across the United States and Canada to join MLS.

“There is tremendous interest in professional soccer across the United States and Canada,” Garber said.

“Since announcing plans to expand to 28 clubs late last year, many potential ownership groups have contacted us, and numerous public officials have stated their desire to bring an MLS expansion team to their city.

“We look forward to reviewing expansion applications in the coming months and conducting formal meetings in 2017 with possible team owners.”

Ownership groups from 10 markets have expressed interest in securing an MLS expansion team: Charlotte, Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

The deadline for interested expansion owners to submit applications is January 31, 2017 after which a number of meetings will take place during the first and second quarters of 2017 to determine which teams will join MLS.