During halftime of the Major League Soccer All-Star game, commissioner Don Garber went on the Fox Sports1 broadcast and gave an update on MLS expansion.
From a San Diego perspective, it was discouraging to hear America's Finest City not mentioned specifically among the communities vying for four new franchises.
“I don’t know where exactly yet,” explained Garber during the broadcast. “I know that we’ve got 12 markets and those 12 markets are all very interested for those four spots. We’ll pick two in December."
"You have Nashville, Cincinnati, Sacramento and Detroit – all who are really energized - surprising us all," added the commissioner. "But then you have Charlotte and Raleigh and Tampa and so many other markets. So we’ll be in December with two to pick and we’ll have two great cities and then two more picking sometime after that.”
The fact that Garber was rather vague on a current deadline for the potential 27th and 28th teams is encouraging for San Diegans rooting for a franchise.
Soccer City representatives such as spokesman Nick Stone and retired USA star Landon Donovan are still hoping MLS will #WaitForSD in 2018 but as Garber confirmed, certain cities already have a leg up on San Diego.
When prompted by former USMNT player and current broadcaster Stuart Holden, Garber also addressed the implied number of 28 as the final number of MLS franchises under his watch.
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"At 28 we will be the largest league in the world, said Garber. "We’ve got a lot of work that we need to do to on-board all those teams. Figure out our competitive format. Ensure we have the right players. Ensure we have the right relationship with all those communities. 28 in my tenure, that’s for darn sure.”
