Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber confirmed the league is actively considering two additional expansion franchises, marking the first formal growth signal since San Diego received slot 30 in May 2023. The timing tracks with World Cup 2026 venue preparation and broadcast-rights positioning ahead of the 2027 media cycle.
Garber's statement follows 18 months of public silence on expansion after MLS reached its stated 30-club target. The league had previously soft-capped growth while absorbing Charlotte (2022), St. Louis (2023), and San Diego's planned 2025 entry. Internal deliberations now center on whether the next window opens before or after the North American World Cup, with franchise valuations hovering near $500 million based on recent secondary transactions.
The expansion calculus reflects three converging factors. First, World Cup 2026 viewing projections have climbed following Qatar's 5.26 billion cumulative audience and strong early ticketing for North American venues. Second, stadium economics have shifted: eight MLS clubs now operate soccer-specific facilities opened since 2020, with public-private partnerships proving more structured than the expansion era of 2015-2019. Third, Apple's season pass has created a marginal revenue model that rewards incremental inventory, unlike the old broadcast bundle. A 31st and 32nd franchise would add 68 regular-season matches to Apple's content slate without cannibalizing existing markets.
The most credible expansion candidates remain Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Antonio, cities that have maintained stadium-site control and submitted preliminary materials during prior windows. Las Vegas carries added weight: the market has absorbed NHL (2017), WNBA (2018), and NFL (2020) franchises while demonstrating sponsor density that MLS operators consider underutilized. Phoenix represents the largest metro area without MLS presence, though stadium financing collapsed twice in 2021 and 2022. San Antonio has a 8,000-seat USL facility and a vocal ownership group, but lacks the corporate sponsorship base that MLS now requires for first-year operations.
Expansion also creates strategic leverage in two directions. For MLS, adding clubs before the 2027 media rights negotiation strengthens the Apple renewal conversation and provides optionality if linear broadcasters re-enter. For Apple, more matches justify higher per-subscriber pricing if the season pass model converts casual fans during the World Cup summer. The league has not disclosed whether expansion fees would remain at the $500 million level set for San Diego or rise toward the $600-700 million range that informal bidding groups have recently floated.
Garber's expansion roadmap arrives as rival leagues test North American growth. Major League Baseball is fielding inquiries from Vancouver, Nashville, and Charlotte, while the NHL absorbed five clubs between 2000 and 2021. MLS operators view this as validation of Sunbelt and secondary-market economics, though the league's salary structure—$5.2 million median payroll in 2023—remains a fraction of peer leagues, creating different risk-return profiles for ownership groups.
The next tangible milestone is MLS Board of Governors meetings in December 2024 and March 2025, where formal expansion resolutions typically surface. Garber has historically announced target markets 12-18 months before franchise awards, suggesting any new clubs would launch no earlier than 2027, aligning with post-World Cup momentum and the next broadcast window. Sacramento, which lost its bid during the last round, has reassembled an ownership group and secured a stadium site, positioning it as a potential dark horse if Phoenix or San Antonio falter.
The decision to pursue 32 clubs would make MLS the largest top-flight soccer league by team count, exceeding England's Premier League (20) and Spain's La Liga (20). Whether that scale creates liquidity or dilution depends on whether World Cup 2026 converts casual viewers into season-pass subscribers. Apple and MLS have not disclosed current subscriber figures, though industry estimates place the count near 2 million globally, well short of the 5 million threshold analysts consider breakeven for the $2.5 billion rights deal.
Expansion also influences coaching and player markets. Two new clubs require approximately 60 roster spots, 6 head coaches and technical staff, and 10-12 front-office operators with MLS experience. The league's academy system has produced 487 homegrown signings since 2020, but expansion accelerates demand for backroom staff, a category where MLS competes directly with Liga MX and European clubs for bilingual talent.
The commissioner's public positioning suggests the league views 32 as a terminal number for the current business model, though no formal cap has been legislated. Garber's comments emphasize "strategic growth" rather than "aggressive expansion," a tonal shift from the 2013-2019 period when MLS added 8 clubs in six years. The next two franchises will test whether World Cup momentum translates to sustained ticket and sponsorship revenue, or whether the league is pricing in a viewership spike that dissipates by 2027.
The takeaway
MLS expansion to **32 clubs** hinges on World Cup 2026 converting viewers into Apple subscribers before the **2027** media rights negotiation.
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