MLS Commissioner On Charlotte And The Future Of The League
- Garber wants to revamp roster rules and homegrown player development to retain top American talent.
- Garber is excited by soccer's growth in the US but says the league must continue to build on this momentum.
- Garber plans to be involved with the league in an advisory role after a new commissioner is named soon.
Outgoing MLS Commissioner Don Garber spoke in bold terms Monday on the future of MLS, how they capitalize on the momentum of the World Cup, and what he along with the owners of the league need to do to take the league to the next level.
Garber’s overseeing potentially his last All-Star Game, as a source close to the situation familiar with the league’s process said a successor could be named as soon as week. The Commissioner appeared Monday night at the MLS’ Hometown Heroes event, which gives money to four non-profit agencies in each All-Star city’s region every year. Garber spoke on the league’s “Take It From Here” ad campaign, but expounded further on just how far the league needs to “take” it.
“We’ve got to evolve our roster rules,” Commissioner Garber said. “We’ve got to re-engage our thinking of homegrown player development programs. We’ve got to continue to sign players like Antoine Griezmann and Robert Lewandowski & find ways to keep the best young American players here in the United States and that’s been the story over time.”
While the World Cup saw a drastic boom in the viewing popularity of soccer in the United States, many have wondered what that means for the country’s most visible first-division league.
“I couldn’t have been more excited and humbled with what went on here this summer, and that’s not good enough,” Garber said. “It’s not a Taylor Swift concert, it is really about growing the game. FIFA has done their part, they did it in 1994 giving us the World Cup, US Soccer did their part on giving us the foundational support to launch our league and our owners, our players and our fans did their part for the last 30 years. Now we have to take it from here.”
Garber also addressed his impending exit from the league, saying, “Our league is thriving, and when I took this job there weren’t a lot of takers, and I think now that I’m going to be stepping down, there are a lot of takers and I think the league will have a great commissioner to take it from here.”
“The process is upon us, it’s happening very soon,” Garber added. “I plan to be in the seat until the end of the year, maybe beyond, but I hope ownership can meet with a bunch of great candidates as quickly as they can and find somebody that can be excited about committing many many years to this job like I did.”
Garber says he plans to be involved in the league in an advisory or “some capacity” when a new commissioner is named.
