With a single post on the league’s official website, Major League Soccer alleviated the fears of fans across North America. They announced on Wednesday evening that MLS and the MLS Players Union have reached an agreement in principle on the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering five seasons, starting with the 2015 season and continuing through the 2019 season.
“We are pleased to finalize the framework for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with our players,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “We now enter our 20th season with enormous momentum with our new television partnerships, dynamic star players from the US, Canada and abroad, and two new expansion teams in New York City and Orlando that will debut in front of more than 60,000 fans on Sunday in the Citrus Bowl. This agreement will provide a platform for our players, ownership and management to work together to help build Major League Soccer into one of the great soccer leagues in the world.”
If the agreement that was reached in principle goes through as expected, the league will begin it’s 20th season on Friday when the defending MLS Cup Champions, Los Angeles Galaxy host the Chicago Fire.
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“We are pleased to announce that we have reached a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the league,” said Bob Foose, Executive Director of the MLS Players Union. “We are pleased to finally turn our fans attention back to our players and the competition on the field as we get started on the 2015 season.”
MLS teams have not wasted anytime releasing statements of their own either. Below is an official club statement from Toronto FC that was sent out minutes after the league announced the news that a deal had been reached in principle.
“We are extremely pleased that MLS and the MLS Players Union were able to reach an agreement tonight allowing us to start the season as scheduled. We appreciate the hard work put in by both sides to ensure our fans, and our team, won’t miss a minute of soccer action this season. We were focused this offseason on assembling a playoff-caliber club and we are excited about the season ahead following a very productive training camp and pre-season. Finally, we’d like to thank our fans for their incredible support as we get set to open Toronto FC’s ninth season in Vancouver Saturday. Our goal was to make this the most memorable season yet for them and the team is anxious to get started.”
With all the hype surrounding the 20th MLS season, a work stoppage could have been detrimental for the league and the game in North America. However, the fact that the two sides were able to work out a deal and come to terms without losing any games is a fantastic sign for the future of MLS.
Fans can now begin to get excited about the full slate of games taking place this weekend, including Orlando City SC hosting New York City FC in front of 60,000 fans at the Citrus Bowl that will be shown across the United States on ESPN 2.