Will the MLS become one of the biggest leagues in the world in our lifetime?

Fenway

HF Bookie and Bruins Historian
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Sep 26, 2007
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MLS has to consider going to a 'winter schedule' similar to the leagues in Europe.

I can see MLS passing the NHL in the US in the next 10 years and that saddens me but unless the NHL makes some rule changes to make the game more entertaining that will happen.
 

Kshahdoo

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Mar 23, 2008
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If MLS becomes the biggest American soccer league (not just NA) it'll be huge for it. The next step they should make is to make American Champions League for SA and NA teams. It'd be a pretty good tournament with potential to make good money (with countries like USA, Brazil, Mexico it's a huge and wealthy market). And then... who knows.
 

PCSPounder

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Apr 12, 2012
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He meant immigrants, yes, ie importing fans. Unfortunately, immigrants would be the worst thing for mls, as they tend to stick with their own leagues.

Whoa. Mixed bag here. I find immigrants who are willing to embrace the local scene and a few who stay away. It's more miss than hit with Mexicans who don't really feel embraced by US Soccer. There are some lamentable bias issues in that relationship.

There are locals who embrace the local scene. I suspect, however, that the venn diagram of mallrats and Eurosnobs (those who are native but can't be bothered to watch the local team) may barely look like two circles.

If MLS becomes the biggest American soccer league (not just NA) it'll be huge for it. The next step they should make is to make American Champions League for SA and NA teams. It'd be a pretty good tournament with potential to make good money (with countries like USA, Brazil, Mexico it's a huge and wealthy market). And then... who knows.

It'll be interesting to see how the Copa America plays here next month. Not that this necessarily measures club tournament potential, just that I think TV ratings will tell an interesting story one way or another (sales suck because tickets are too expensive). Even then, people here would rather see Inter Milan in a meaningless game than Saprissa (or probably even Fluminese or River Plate) in a qualifier.

Thing is, first, MLS has to get a team to win CONCACAF Champions League. This hasn't happened since the format changed, and only one team (2011 Real Salt Lake) was close.
 
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Vamos Rafa

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Jan 11, 2010
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Armenia, California
According to this, the MLS is #15 as far as pro league with the most revenue.

This is taking into account that the league is only about 20 years old, with only 20 teams, and is still making it's mark in North America.

If things keep progressing for the MLS like it is, where can you see them in the next 20-30 years?

What do you mean only 20 teams? Most top flight leagues have 18 teams.
 

lawrence

Registered User
May 19, 2012
15,971
6,757
According to this, the MLS is #15 as far as pro league with the most revenue.

This is taking into account that the league is only about 20 years old, with only 20 teams, and is still making it's mark in North America.

If things keep progressing for the MLS like it is, where can you see them in the next 20-30 years?

not a bloody chance, unless we attract the best soccer players in the world, like we are doing with hockey, and that will never happen, because we do not have the spending power to pay off star soccer players. not a blood chance, but will love to see it.

btw, the MLS Is kinda like Swiss leauge of hockey. It's maybe like the 5th highest level of pro soccer. Of course the highest being the Euro Leauge or whatever you call it.
 

polishjetsfan

Registered User
Jul 4, 2013
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30
Krakow
not a bloody chance, unless we attract the best soccer players in the world, like we are doing with hockey, and that will never happen, because we do not have the spending power to pay off star soccer players. not a blood chance, but will love to see it.

btw, the MLS Is kinda like Swiss leauge of hockey. It's maybe like the 5th highest level of pro soccer. Of course the highest being the Euro Leauge or whatever you call it.

There's a typo here, unless you really meant 5th instead of 25th
 

Deleted member 93465

Guest
Whoa. Mixed bag here. I find immigrants who are willing to embrace the local scene and a few who stay away. It's more miss than hit with Mexicans who don't really feel embraced by US Soccer. There are some lamentable bias issues in that relationship.

There are locals who embrace the local scene. I suspect, however, that the venn diagram of mallrats and Eurosnobs (those who are native but can't be bothered to watch the local team) may barely look like two circles.

It'll be interesting to see how the Copa America plays here next month. Not that this necessarily measures club tournament potential, just that I think TV ratings will tell an interesting story one way or another (sales suck because tickets are too expensive). Even then, people here would rather see Inter Milan in a meaningless game than Saprissa (or probably even Fluminese or River Plate) in a qualifier.

Thing is, first, MLS has to get a team to win CONCACAF Champions League. This hasn't happened since the format changed, and only one team (2011 Real Salt Lake) was close.

Yeah, certainly think second and third generation ones embrace the local scene, but for first generation immigrants, especially with the access you can get to international leagues, it's a tough sell.

There's a typo here, unless you really meant 5th instead of 25th

Yeah, on a like for like basis, the Swiss hockey league is way ahead of MLS in soccer.
 

Voight

#winning
Feb 8, 2012
40,677
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Not happening. Even with the immense growth its seen in the last decade, there is still millions and millions of North Americans who watch the Euro leagues. The talent has improved but your best players are the Giovinco's who were alright in Europe but come here and instantly become the best players. Lately its been turning into a semi-retirement home for the Kaka's and Henry's of soccer who can't play at a high level in Europe anymore but can still do so here and for a huge paycheque.

NFL & MLB also grow in revenue & popularity every year, and will likely never stop.
 

Hoek

Legendary Poster A
May 12, 2003
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Tampa, FL
Yeah the weather is way too extreme in the northern cities for a winter schedule to be viable.

I think MLS needs to supersede the Mexican league first and even that will be quite a battle. A more realistic goal would be to become the best soccer league in the Americas and attract or develop the sort of talent that regularly gets sold to Europe like Argentina and Brazil does, but with more money behind it like the Mexican league. Then maybe it can approach the quality of say Italy at least. Don't think it will ever surpass the English, Spanish, and German leagues.
 

hatterson

Registered User
Apr 12, 2010
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North Tonawanda, NY
MLS has to consider going to a 'winter schedule' similar to the leagues in Europe.

I can see MLS passing the NHL in the US in the next 10 years and that saddens me but unless the NHL makes some rule changes to make the game more entertaining that will happen.

What is the reason the MLS hasn't gone to a winter schedule? Is it due to issues scheduling games in outdoor stadiums in the winter in places like Toronto and Vancouver?
 

Hoek

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May 12, 2003
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Tampa, FL
What is the reason the MLS hasn't gone to a winter schedule? Is it due to issues scheduling games in outdoor stadiums in the winter in places like Toronto and Vancouver?

Well Vancouver plays indoors and usually doesn't get THAT cold and snowy right? But there is also Columbus, New England, New York, Colorado, etc. At least half the league has pretty bad winters. Even if you can play the games it really kills attendance. Even starting in March has produced some poorly attended games when the weather is far colder than expected. Scandinavian leagues don't typically play in winter either so it's not just a matter of sucking it up.
 

varsaku

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Feb 14, 2014
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MLS is going after the NFL model. Since the talent pool for soccer is so big they could potentially go past 30. There are a lot of markets that have few pro sports team that can support an MLS team.

The current demographic is very young in comparison to the other big four sports. The future success of MLS really depends on whether that trend continues. As this younger demographic gets older and spends more on the league, revenue will start to increase.

MLS wants all teams to improve instead of having a top heavy league hence the convoluted cap rules. This could potentially be the draw that they want. They can't compete with other leagues in terms of talent or prestige but they can compete in terms of entertainment.
 

Jackets Woodchuck

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Dec 27, 2010
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Well Vancouver plays indoors and usually doesn't get THAT cold and snowy right? But there is also Columbus, New England, New York, Colorado, etc. At least half the league has pretty bad winters. Even if you can play the games it really kills attendance. Even starting in March has produced some poorly attended games when the weather is far colder than expected. Scandinavian leagues don't typically play in winter either so it's not just a matter of sucking it up.

Forget poorly attended games, the early start has produced postponed games.
 

Zegras Zebra

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May 7, 2016
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Winnipeg, Manitoba
In order for the MLS to become a major sports league world wide they need to make several changes. First they need to dump the designated player rule and the salary cap, or at least significantly raise the salary cap. The league needs to bring in more high skilled/ high potential foreign players, even though they will likely need to dramatically overpay for them. Unfortunately this will create 4-5 teams which are much better than everyone else and will dominate the league most years, but this does not hurt other European leagues so it won't be a problem unless smaller market teams bankrupt themselves trying to keep up. North American sports fans love to watch star players so this may increase attendance for games against the big clubs (attendance between small clubs will probably be the same for this generation at least). Watching this talent in their own domestic league will help inspire the next generation of US/ Canadian soccer players, and will make their national teams better in the long run as well as strengthen the league depth as most of the league will still be American and Canadian players. Overall these changes will increase interest in soccer for the American/ Canadian public, and soccer will be a more popular sport for the next generation of sports fans. These fans will be more willing to pay to see soccer, the clubs will make more money, and will be better able to spend this extra cash on better quality players making the league stronger in the long run.
 

Butch 19

Go cart Mozart
May 12, 2006
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I think it will continue to grow and eventually rival the NHL and maybe the NBA in our lifetimes. Individual clubs won't rival the biggest ones in Europe but they will close the gap.


I sincerely hope that you are 2 years old.

I do not see it happening. Soccer is just too boring to attract NA masses over the long haul. I think it's already reached its peak.
 

Urbanskog

Platinum Member
Feb 8, 2014
3,551
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Helsinki
I think you are underestimating how fast Basketball is globalizing, it is becoming the biggest sport in China. It is huge in Mainland Europe, and the talent pool is exploding.
The talent going to be too much for the NBA is a few years in the level of play in European leagues is going to shoot upwards.
The NHL, we will see, but I have a feeling that there is a cap on soccer that is lower than Hockey, although I may be living in a bubble of New England where Hockey is as big as anywhere and soccer is probably the least popular it is anywhere.

If basketball is so huge in Europe, why are the attendance figures so abysmal?
 

Ceremony

blahem
Jun 8, 2012
113,232
15,474
Not unless America produces actual quality players of its own, substituting (comparatively) vastly overpaid old-and-not-very-good-anymore imports with genuine top class American players. I would say American and Canadian players, but Canada just seems incapable of producing anyone of any ability. To counter Butch's tired cliché above, the American population rallying behind the band of cloggers they had in the last World Cup shows you that any time there's some sort of national relevance, there will be national interest. Having actual, legitimate homegrown talent in the domestic leagues and the national team will see the interest following. I have many theories about how this could happen, but this isn't really the thread for them.

I would also suggest that given the apparent desire for European homogenisation among the Big Clubs that MLS doesn't have any hope of cracking the top ten, should such a scenario arise. If, for instance, you were to have some sort of close-shop pan-European arrangement guaranteeing the Big Clubs playing matches solely against each other all year round (in various places in the world, no doubt) then the revenues and popularity of that league would be unsurpassed in terms of the global revenues and audiences it would get. What was left of national leagues and associations would probably see a much more focused interest from its fans, making them less likely to have a genuine interest in anything outwith their country. I'm sceptical that such a competition could ever realistically exist, however. It certainly shouldn't, but then, money talks.

So to answer the question, I can't. There's no saying what football leagues will exist in the world over the course of my lifetime. What I would say though is that there will be no comparison at all between a league with a franchise system and leagues with genuine independent clubs in a meritocracy in terms of sustained local interest and relevance. Ever. Focus on sorting your own **** out rather than worrying about what the rest of the world thinks about you. North America certainly has the resources to be able to do it.
 

BattleBorn

50% to winning as many division titles as Toronto
Feb 6, 2015
12,069
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Easy, it will be non-existent. Though I'm sure it will be replaced by yet another league promising that it will make soccer the next big thing in North America...

Meh, I don't know about that. They've gotten themselves pretty well established after some turbulence at the beginning, the kind of turbulence that kills most leagues in their infancy.

MLS might not look a lot like it does now, but I'm confident it will be around.
 

Inkling

Same Old Hockey
Nov 27, 2006
5,655
679
Ottawa
I sincerely hope that you are 2 years old.

I do not see it happening. Soccer is just too boring to attract NA masses over the long haul. I think it's already reached its peak.

Whatever you say, Grandpa. Baseball seems to do ok.

So, I can confess I'm not actually 2 years old (just act like it sometimes) but I see it in my kids. They and their friends are all into soccer (albeit mostly European), and these are not just immigrant kids. When my daughters school had a 'fan jersey day' she said after hockey, most kids wore soccer jerseys, and there there was a smattering of football,baseball and basketball. To them, football (as in CFL or NFL) is very boring because there's so much time with nothing happening, baseball is a bit better. I see soccer as pretty mainstream, they play it and they watch it. It's may not be in the next 10 years, but give it time and I totally see MLS reaching NHL status. The sports landscape in North America has been constantly changing over the last 150 years, so I don't see how anyone can believe it will suddenly remain status quo.
 
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Hoek

Legendary Poster A
May 12, 2003
11,454
8,855
Tampa, FL
In order for the MLS to become a major sports league world wide they need to make several changes. First they need to dump the designated player rule and the salary cap, or at least significantly raise the salary cap. The league needs to bring in more high skilled/ high potential foreign players, even though they will likely need to dramatically overpay for them. Unfortunately this will create 4-5 teams which are much better than everyone else and will dominate the league most years, but this does not hurt other European leagues so it won't be a problem unless smaller market teams bankrupt themselves trying to keep up. North American sports fans love to watch star players so this may increase attendance for games against the big clubs (attendance between small clubs will probably be the same for this generation at least). Watching this talent in their own domestic league will help inspire the next generation of US/ Canadian soccer players, and will make their national teams better in the long run as well as strengthen the league depth as most of the league will still be American and Canadian players. Overall these changes will increase interest in soccer for the American/ Canadian public, and soccer will be a more popular sport for the next generation of sports fans. These fans will be more willing to pay to see soccer, the clubs will make more money, and will be better able to spend this extra cash on better quality players making the league stronger in the long run.

That's pretty much what happened with the old NASL. Everyone spent more than they had to compete with Pele and the Cosmos. There's a reason MLS has been uber conservative until recently.
 

JayKing

Go Habs Go
Dec 30, 2011
15,234
418
Montreal
If MLS becomes the biggest American soccer league (not just NA) it'll be huge for it. The next step they should make is to make American Champions League for SA and NA teams. It'd be a pretty good tournament with potential to make good money (with countries like USA, Brazil, Mexico it's a huge and wealthy market). And then... who knows.

For the MLS to join the Copa Libertadores, they'd have to make their schedule in line with the standard FIFA calendar.
 

Ciao

Registered User
Jul 15, 2010
9,961
5,768
Toronto
If in 20 or 30 years MLS is still in existence I'd say that's pretty good.

I don't think it will overtake any of the other major North American sports, or many other major world soccer leagues.
 

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