MLS Commish: ‘We’ve Got a Lot of Boats’ on Soccer’s Rising Tide

MLS commissioner Don Garber said the league’s return after a seven-week hiatus for the FIFA men’s World Cup promises to be a transformative period for the league.

Speaking Thursday to herald the resumption of play, Garber touted a newly fertile commercial market for MLS that provides an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the league’s growth, particularly over the past decade, and build on it.

“As the water level for the sport grows, MLS has got a lot of boats on it,” Garber told Front Office Sports. “It’s on us to earn the trust, the respect, the fan connection in our beautiful stadiums to convert a newbie to the sport.”

The remarks further the league’s aggressive attempt to capitalize on the increased fan attention on soccer that the World Cup created. Already, MLS this week introduced a sweeping ad campaign, “Thanks World, We’ll Take It From Here,” that is described as the largest coordinated marketing effort in league history.

Many others around the sport—including individual clubs, federations, brands, media networks, and youth organizations—have similarly sought to tap into the World Cup’s unprecedented viewership and historic fan attention.

“If the World Cup was somebody’s first chapter, we want to be the second chapter,” said Red Bulls CCO Joe Stetson.

Past, Present, and Future

While the World Cup has been a massive spectacle for the past six weeks, Garber also repeatedly points to the lengthy run-up that preceded last month’s start of the tournament. 

“This was the North Star for us. We knew where our sport was going to be in eight years,” Garber said, referencing the 2018 awarding of this year’s World Cup to North America. “That really gave us something to drive toward. … Eight years ago, for example, we had no [youth development] academies. Now we have 30 academies.”

A key element in the immediate post–World Cup bump for MLS, of course, is the presence of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. After a scintillating performance in Wednesday’s semifinal, Messi and Argentina will be in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain. From there, though, he will be back in Florida to rejoin Inter Miami, the club he led to last year’s MLS Cup title.

“It’s pretty great knowing the best player in the world… is going to be taking off the blue and white kit [of Argentina] and putting on the pink Inter Miami jersey,” Garber said. “At the end of the day, he’s Leo Messi from Miami.”

There have been points of tension between Garber and Messi, though, particularly in the wake of the commissioner’s one-match suspension of the superstar last year for skipping the MLS All-Star Game without an approved medical reason. Garber, however, said the relationship since then has improved.

“We’re communicating a little bit more,” Garber said.

Final Legacy

The post–World Cup period will also likely be the final chapter in a lengthy career at MLS for Garber. MLS club owners have initiated a formal succession process that not only includes the commissioner’s post but also numerous other senior positions in the MLS office. Garber’s contract runs through 2027, and he said he is feeling quite satisfied with the present and future state of MLS.

“I couldn’t feel any better than I have felt the last couple of years,” Garber told FOS. “I have done the job I set out to do… I feel like I can hold my head high. … I will be in this office through 2027. There’s a succession process that not only is ongoing, I’m supportive of it, I’m embracing it, I feel great about it.”

This final period will also include next year’s shift to the international standard of a fall-to-spring schedule. That period will likely aid in further acquisition of star players in their prime—something that historically has been a tough climb for MLS, as it is still ranked as the 10th-best soccer league in the world.

“We’ve now cracked the code commercially as being one of the top leagues in the world,” Garber said. “Now we have to crack the rest of it.”