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After this season, one of the brightest European football stars, David Beckham, will move across the Atlantic. The former player of "Manchester United" and Madrid's "Real" is facing a new challenge, the North American football league - MLS (Major League Soccer). So, what is this MLS?
MLS is a relatively young league - its founding agreement was signed only in 1993, and just three years later, 10 teams started the first championship. Interestingly, the creation of this league was mandated by FIFA, allowing Americans to host the 1994 World Cup.
MLS teams are divided into 2 divisions: Eastern and Western. Another feature that sets this league apart from European leagues is that all players sign contracts not with clubs, as is customary elsewhere, but with the league itself. This structure allows MLS to adapt to the U.S. tax system. Like in the National Basketball Association (NBA), MLS conducts drafts where clubs select players.
A different system from Europe and league itself. After a regular season lasting from spring to fall, 8 teams participate in playoff matches, with the winner being awarded the MLS Cup. Both the cup winners and regular season champions earn the right to play in the CONCACAF Champions League. This year, the strongest team in the regular season was "D.C. United," and the Houston Dynamo club won the MLS Cup.
The number of MLS teams is not fixed: there were 12 in 1998, and in the upcoming season, it will reach 14. The expansion of the league is planned in the following years as well. MLS used an interesting method to choose names for new teams: online polls were conducted where residents decided on the new club's name. However, after two unsuccessful surveys, the league announced that this practice would no longer be used.
According to 2004 data, MLS had experienced a $350 million loss over its years of existence. Nevertheless, changing media attitudes towards this league allow for hopes of a better future. The Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas clubs only started operating profitably once they built their own stadiums. This trend has forced other league clubs to consider building their own stadiums.
MLS player salaries are limited - each club cannot spend more than $2 million per year on player salaries (this amount increases slightly each year). However, not all money paid to the player goes into his "salary cap." Currently, the highest-earning MLS players earn about a million dollars a year, but only $250-300 thousand of that amount goes into the "salary cap." Additionally, the league made exceptions for international level stars, such as David Beckham, who is expected to earn about $250 million over 5 years with the Galaxy club.
MLS made interesting changes to its rules at the beginning of its existence: the clock, unlike in international football, would count down from 45 minutes, and when time was up, the match would end. Penalty shootouts were also different in the league. A player received the ball about 30 meters from the goal and had 5 seconds to beat the opposing goalkeeper. Additionally, at one point, 4 substitutions were allowed in MLS, although one of them was only allowed for the goalkeeper.
On average, around 15 thousand spectators watch an MLS match, with the average attendance for the MLS Cup final being 37 thousand spectators. In terms of attendance, soccer in North America lags far behind American football (average attendance - 66 thousand spectators) and baseball (over 30 thousand spectators).
Many famous football players have played or are playing in MLS. However, it must be acknowledged that, excluding U.S. national team players, most famous players came to North America in the twilight of their careers. Players like Roberto Donadoni, Youri Djorkaeff, Lothar Matthaus, Hristo Stoichkov, Thomas Ravelli, and several other famous players have played in this league.
Currently, young U.S. talent Freddy Adu, Trinidad and Tobago national team goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, who impressed the world with his excellent game in the 2006 World Cup, and several U.S. national team players, including Pablo Mastroeni and Landon Donovan are playing in MLS. This summer, they will be joined by the famous David Beckham.
