By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 18, 2020) US Soccer Players - The game is on hiatus, and most of the fans are stuck at home waiting for regular life to return. Meanwhile, preparations for the future of soccer continue in several MLS cities. Soccer-specific stadium construction pushed MLS from unwanted houseguests in arenas not built with the game in mind to the chief tenant in glittering, . . .
The Chicago and Atlanta MLS expansion models
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Feb 3, 2020) US Soccer Players – A new Major League Soccer season starts in four weeks. With preseason in full swing, coaches are testing new tactics as teams buy and sell players. For Nashville SC and Inter Miami, it's their MLS debuts. Expansion teams have typically had a tough go at it in North American sports. In MLS, the gold standard remains the Chicago . . .
Inter Miami’s immediate future
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 24, 2020) US Soccer Players - Right now, possibly as you read this very piece of writing, Club Internacional de Futbol Miami is deciding what it wants to be. The brand new MLS expansion club possesses a blank slate, ready for the architects of the South Florida outfit to fill that space with an identity. With no playing history to speak of, Inter Miami is free . . .
What we learned about American soccer in 2019
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Charlotte gets an MLS team
The soccer news starts with the official announcement that Charlotte is joining Major League Soccer. The latest MLS expansion team will start play in 2021 at Bank of America Stadium, sharing the home of the National Football League's Carolina Panthers. "We are thrilled to welcome Charlotte as Major League Soccer’s 30th club,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "During the last two decades, . . .
Charlotte’s quick arrival as an MLS expansion target
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Dec 9, 2019) US Soccer Players – The expansion sweepstakes to bring the 30th team to MLS has intensified over the past few weeks. As the ever-growing league looks to add yet another franchise, Charlotte has emerged as the frontrunner against Las Vegas and Phoenix. Last week, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the league was working with Charlotte to award it a . . .
The next era in MLS
By J Hutcherson (Dec 3, 2019) US Soccer Players - I spent 22 of the first 23 years of my life living just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. I went to college there. My first paid job in soccer was there. I'd like to think I know the area, but the last time I visited my family it was another rendition of a not all that interesting game of "that used to be here." A lot can change in a couple of . . .
Once again, MLS gets creative with the calendar
The soccer news starts with MLS not content to try and copy an old idea in professional soccer. Teams play each other home and away, and that's the extent of the season. Instead, MLS is going with a new system in 2020 that will see some teams not play each other at all. In a league with 26 teams and 34 games, MLS is favoring its conferences. Inter Miami officially joined the Eastern Conference . . .
Inter Miami in Fort Lauderdale
The soccer news starts with a familiar MLS story. The league expands to Miami and ends up playing in Fort Lauderdale. Stop us if you've heard this one before, but the old Fusion scenario is now playing out again with David Beckham's Inter Miami. We already knew that the team would start life in a rebuilt version of the Fusion's old home Lockhart Stadium. Now, the team is talking about their . . .
Sacramento FC joins MLS
The soccer news starts with the official announcement that Sacramento FC will join MLS in 2022. The league's 29th team leaves one spot open in the current round of expansion. Whether MLS stops at 30 teams is an open question, but that's the same number of teams in Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. The NHL will be at 32 teams when Seattle begins play in the 2021-22 . . .
