Major League Soccer expansion isn’t stopping any time soon.
On Thursday at the Board of Governors meeting in Los Angeles, league owners made a decision to expand to 30 teams in the coming years.
“Professional soccer at all levels is thriving in the United States and Canada and we believe there are many markets that could support a successful MLS club,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said in a league statement.
“Expansion during the last 15 years has been enormously successful and a key driver behind the league’s continued rise, and we are pleased that some of the top business and community leaders representing great markets in North America are aggressively pursuing MLS expansion clubs,” Garber said.
As part of the immediate expansion process, there will be advanced discussions with Sacramento and St. Louis.
Sacramento and St. Louis will make formal presentations to the league’s expansion committee, and while there is no precise timetable, the goal is to have the 28th and 29th teams chosen in the coming months.
Franchises No. 28 and No. 29 will have to pay expansion fees of $200 million.
MLS currently has 24 teams, and will welcome Inter Miami FC and Nashville SC in 2020 and Austin FC in 2021.
The start dates for the to-be-awarded franchises have yet to be determined.