Atlanta United may soon have two more southern neighbors in Miami and Nashville.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Wednesday said that the Miami expansion franchise, in the works for almost 10 years, is close to the finish line. Potential Miami minority owner David Beckham met with the league’s ownership group for the first time on Wednesday and Garber said his vision and plan for the franchise was “well received.”
As such, Garber was authorized by the owners, which includes Atlanta United’s Arthur Blank, to move forward on the final negotiations.
“Time is right for Miami to become a great Major League Soccer city,” Garber said ahead of Wednesday’s All-Star game against Real Madrid at Soldier Field.
Miami would be the league’s 24th team. The league is expected to add four more teams by 2028. Garber said he thinks those would be the final four.
There are 12 cities and ownership groups competing for the four slots.
Garber said of the 12, the four with the most energy are Nashville, Detroit, Sacramento and Cincinnati. He also mentioned Tampa/St. Pete. Garber said he wasn’t going to rank the candidates, and hoped to lift all of them to the same level.
The other candidates are: Charlotte, Raleigh, San Antonio, San Diego, Indianapolis, Phoenix and St. Louis.
The league hopes to approve two of the candidates by the end of the year.
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