
There are currently no division-three leagues, but that will change next year with the launch of the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) and USL Division III, which will reportedly begin play in 2019. The eight-team North American Soccer League (NASL) was also at the division-two level last season, although it lost that status for the upcoming one and also lost one team. MLS and its 22 squads sit at the top, with Phoenix Rising and 29 other teams making up the division-two United Soccer League (USL).
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soccer pyramid has only three official divisions featuring just 59 total teams in 2017. Whereas England has 40,000 clubs competing in 11 formal divisions and 13 informal ones, the U.S.
MLS PHOENIX SOCCER PROFESSIONAL
The professional leagues continue to develop, with revenue growing and the quality of play improving slowly but steadily. Twenty-one years after MLS’s debut, the infrastructure remains a work in progress. The launch of MLS in 1996, coupled with growing access to television broadcasts of games in Europe and the proliferation of internet access, has made it easier than ever to be a soccer fan in the U.S. The current era, however, dates back to 1994, when the World Cup came to America and a new generation of fans started paying attention to the game. joined FIFA in 1914, and the Americans finished third at the debut World Cup in 1930 - still the red, white, and blue’s best result. national team and Canada played the first international friendly outside of the British Isles in 1885. Despite its upstart reputation, the sport boasts a long history in America, as the U.S. Nothing about Drogba in Phoenix and the potential reward he’s seeking makes sense without first understanding the state of soccer in the United States in 2017.
MLS PHOENIX SOCCER FREE
While the league itself is on an upward trajectory, better in every regard than it was 10 years ago, it faces competition from around the world and a fracturing media landscape that might make it difficult to draw attention and attract television revenue.īetting on MLS, then, is like betting on a Drogba free kick: The odds are in your favor, but the ball could still miss the net. Some teams, like the Seattle Sounders, the Portland Timbers, and Atlanta United, are thriving. That’s why a dozen ownership groups with net worths extending well into the billions are desperate to spend hundreds of millions to make a bet on the future of the world’s most popular sport.īut the success of MLS is far from guaranteed. Even the Las Vegas Knights, the first NHL expansion franchise since 2000, went for $500 million. NBA, NFL, and MLB teams don’t come on the market often, and they cost billions when they do. It’s also the easiest and cheapest way into professional sports. Buying into MLS now - when franchises are relatively cheap and the league is relatively young - presents an opportunity to earn a significant return on investment, capitalizing on the sport’s rise in the U.S. On the surface, this might not sound like a good deal. If they secure either, they’ll earn the right to cut MLS a check for at least $150 million to join a league that loses money every year.

Phoenix Rising remains in the mix for the 27th or 28th spot. In the coming weeks, league commissioner Don Garber will announce teams 25 and 26, widely expected to be Sacramento and either Nashville or Cincinnati. Over the past year, 12 ownership groups in 14 cities have announced their desire to be a part of the U.S first division. (Los Angeles FC and a Miami team have already been awarded franchises.) Bakay and Drogba’s ultimate goal with Phoenix Rising is to gain entry into MLS when the league expands from 24 to 28 teams between now and 2020. He bought into the vision of majority owner Berke Bakay, becoming a minority partner in April. Instead, this highlight occurred while the man once credited with bringing peace to the Ivory Coast was playing for a second-division team based in Phoenix that, on the day of his goal, had existed for less than a year.ĭrogba moved to Phoenix Rising FC to play but also to be an owner. The tally didn’t come in a lesser European first division, like the Turkish Süper Lig, where he played from 2012 to 2014, or even in Major League Soccer, where Drogba scored 22 goals in just 39 games for the Montreal Impact in 20. It was a world-class effort, but Drogba, now 39, didn’t score it in front of tens of thousands of Premier League fans. OH MY GOODNESS ⚽ absolute laser from the man from #SCTop10 #LAvPHX /4J8GyD5P7l- USL August 6, 2017
