Commissioner Don Garber: World soccer would be in ‘better shape’ if it followed MLS’ structure

MLS Commissioner Don Garber believes that global soccer leagues would be in in “much, much better shape,” if they followed a structure similar to that of the domestic men’s league, according to the Sports Business Journal.

Garber’s comments came at the Leaders Week 2024 conference in London Wednesday, with the veteran commissioner saying “If you were to ask the people that are running some of the big European leagues, they’d say, ‘Boy, MLS has got it right.”

Garber attributed the growth of MLS team valuations and investment in soccer-specific stadiums in part to the league’s unique structure as single business entity.

Garber said that a key driver for the success of MLS is the lack of promotion and relegation – a mechanism used in the majority of leagues around the world. Garber suggested that MLS owners and public entities would be reticent to put significant funds toward stadiums if their team had a chance of being sent down — resulting in a major revenue loss — after an unsuccessful season.

However, in certain instances, he admitted he may be open to trying the concept in certain scenarios.

“I do think that there are ways for us to think about what that could look like going forward as the development of the minor leagues continues to grow,” Garber said. “We have a competition with [Liga MX] called the Leagues Cup, where we play against the Mexican league in the summertime — could we have different ways that our teams are qualifying in for that?”

• 

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  That said, Garber also noted that there are structural changes that could still benefit MLS, especially around governance.

  “In terms of governance, we’d probably change things: maybe not have strict salary caps, maybe not have a centralized entity like the league office making a lot of learned decisions based on committees and the like,” Garber said. “But I think we have a model that has driven our success, and I think if that model was adapted around the world, football would be in much, much better shape.”

  Garber also discussed the growth of soccer in the U.S. beyond MLS, saying of the 2026 World Cup in North America: “People have no idea how big the World Cup is going to be in the States. I’ve said that to [FIFA President] Gianni Infantino. I’ve said it to Victor Montagliani, who runs CONCACAF. Our country is going to explode with interest, and that’s not selling. We are a football-soccer nation.”

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    Garber also pointed toward the value of the MLS’ 10-year media deal with Apple TV, adding that he believes streaming services may become the dominant option for future sports consumption.

    “I do think the world is moving, as we all know, to a streaming environment,” he said. “Ninety-eight percent of Americans have at least one streaming service. Think about that from where it was five years ago. Most kids today have never consumed cable. So, the most important question is, ‘Are we early? Are we on time?’ Time will tell, history will judge it.”

  • IMGAN

    WHAT NEXT FOR MLS?

    Decision Day 2024 is set for Saturday. The league’s regular season finale will determine the final entrants, and official seeding, for the 2024 postseason.

    The no. 1 overall seed has already been clinched by Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, who claimed the MLS Supporters’ Shield earlier this month.