The Guardian- 10 September 2015 The head of Major League Soccer has offered a veiled criticism of the Premier League by suggesting the MLS is more competitive, with all teams believing they have a chance of winning the title.

Since the Premier League began in 1992 only five different clubs have claimed the title – Manchester City, Manchester United, Blackburn, Arsenal and Chelsea.

The MLS is in its 20th year and has had nine different winners, including Sporting Kansas City, who have twice won the MLS Cup despite operating as one of the competition’s more modest models.

Don Garber, the Major League Soccer commissioner, said at Soccerex in Manchester: “We see some of the challenges of competing in the Premier League. We have wealthy owners but we are very committed to the idea that at the start of every season every fan can think their team can win a championship. We want someone in Kansas City, even though they are smaller than New York City, to think they can win the title.”

Garber also denied that having no relegation or promotion in the MLS damages credibility. “I don’t believe that is true. We are a real league now, with real business, our games are live on TV and live around the world. We play in a country where the major leagues are really successful. There is no promotion and relegation in hockey and basketball and they work really well. It is not happening in MLS any time soon.”

The commissioner also confirmed the MLS has held talks with the Premier League about organising a tournament involving American and English teams. Over the last two years, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have crossed the Atlantic to participate in the pre-season International Champions Cup, but Garber is hoping to create a more formal competition.

“We have been talking to the Premier League about doing some sort of official competition as opposed to just having clubs come over to the country on a random basis playing in a tournament that takes place every summer,” Garber said.

Garber’s dream is to pit the top teams in America against their foreign counterparts – possibly from England – every summer.

“I would love to find a way we could play our cup champion and our league champion against an FA Cup and league champion in a tournament and play it in New York City every year,” he said. “If not every year, then every four years.

“This concept of super cups involving the MLS, whether it’s one with Mexico or one with some of the other leagues, would be smart … Overall there is no doubt there are opportunities for the MLS and Premier League to work more closely together on either a tournament or some other type of activity, but that is about as far as it has gone.”

Garber also indicated there could be announcement this year to confirm David Beckham’s plan to start a franchise in Miami based at a site next to the stadium of the Florida Marlins baseball team.

“They are making a lot of progress,”Garber said. “David has been part of our world for six years, he’s very smart, very focused, loves our country, loves our league and wants to own a team. He has had a lot of fits and starts in trying to build a stadium. You have got to have the right building and we have got to create that new story but David is making progress more so than ever before.”{jcomments on}

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