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MLS’s Expansions

By Jaime Broitman

FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 2: Daniel Pereira #6 of Austin FC dribbles at midfield as Mark-Anthony Kaye #28 of New England Revolution defends during a game between Austin FC and New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on September 2, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 2: Daniel Pereira #6 of Austin FC dribbles at midfield as Mark-Anthony Kaye #28 of New England Revolution defends during a game between Austin FC and New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on September 2, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /
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The MLS keep expanding and getting to the point that there would be the same amount of teams as the other major leagues in the US. While this may be a good idea if it were like the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL but in the sport of soccer/football it doesn’t.

The major five leagues in Europe: La Liga, Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Bundesliga, none exceed twenty teams. Keep in mind that Ligue 1 could potentially play teams in Guadeloupe, Reunion, French Guiana, and other French dependencies in their cup competition. The main point is that all of these leagues have a domestic cup competition and also play UEFA international games throughout the year. With the exception of the Premier League, each federation has one domestic cup. The main reason why the Premier League is the exception is because there are at most three domestic cups within their season.

The root cause of the comparison is that the MLS will have almost thirty teams by 2025. The current way that the schedule is played is antithetical to the way that almost every single league in the world does it. There are 34 games where every team plays against the teams in their conference in a home and away series and four more games against the other conference. Outside of the MLS, every team plays home and away against every team in their domestic league and then there are variations. Some like in Spain, England, Germany and France end their season at the conclusion of this phase. Others like in Scotland, Belgium, and Israel then divide their league into the championship and relegation group where the teams in each would play again against those teams in a home and away series and then the league is finished for the year.

In this season, because of the constant expansions, Inter Miami will play 11 games in a span of two months. Part of this is mainly due to their successes in the regional and also US Open Cup, but there are times that the schedule would be three games a week which is the maximum allowed by the guidelines given by FIFA. If the league decides to add more teams then the schedule would be to the point that it could potentially break guidelines.

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