OK, so the ultimate goal is for the MLS to be a Top 3 League in the world. But, to do that, the league needs to make more money. The bulk of that money has to come from TV revenue. Unfortunately, MLS's TV deal, while having grown substantially, is still extremely low and that is reflective of poor national TV ratings. So, what does the MLS need to do maximize TV revenue? Sure, we can take a giant leap and throw tons of money at big name stars in their prime in 2026 (if we get World Cup bid) and HOPE that average Joe Blow American Sports Fan will watch, but there's a ton of risk to that. My idea is to invite 10 Liga MX teams into MLS permanently for 2 reasons. First of all, Mexico is a country of 120 million people.....and a world-class MLS with 10 historic Mexican teams will make for an enormous Mexican TV deal. Beyond that, Liga MX is the #1 rated league in the USA, home to 30 million Mexicans. Not only does adding 10 Mexican teams eliminate competition, but it engages those 30 million soccer-crazed Mexicans to start watching MLS, which drives up American TV revenue. I am sure MLS would be happy for teams like Club America or the real Chivas to join but why would those clubs want to leave LigaMX? The answer $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ If MLS is going world-class, those clubs stand to make much more in a world-class American based league than a mediocre Mexican-based league. As far as world-class soccer goes, the money is in America. Americans LOVE world-class soccer. Mexican teams, now making more money in world-class MLS, can attract and pay big-time players in their prime and keep more Mexican stars from going to Europe. There are many things than would have to be worked out such as which calendar to use, playoffs, draft, salary caps, how many Americans, Mexicans, Canadiens, have to be on which rosters, etc but that can be worked out. I would break the teams into 4 10 team divisions. No conferences. Play everybody in your division home and away and 6 teams from the other 3 divisions to have a 36 game schedule plus the playoffs (top 6 from each division make it. I added some expansion teams. East Toronto Montreal New England NYCFC RBNY Philadelphia DC Atlanta Orlando Miami Central Detroit Columbus Chicago Minnesota St. Louis SKC Colorado Houston Dallas San Antonio West RSL Phoenix San Diego LA Galaxy LAFC San Jose Sacramento Portland Seattle Vancouver Mexican Club America Tigres Pachuca Santos Laguna Chivas Monterrey Tijuana Cruz Azul UNAM Puebla Some Mexican teams are obvious choices. I tried to pick the 10 best based on tradition, fanbase, TV market, and stadium. I'd be interested to hear what Mexican teams you'd add instead. As for Liga MX, it can survive in a lesser form, similar to NASL or USL but given the history of those teams and fanbases, would still be an economically viable 2nd Division.
FIFA and Mexican federation won't allow that. In a world without FIFA and Mexican federation, it might happen. But more likely Liga MX would've just expanded into US, starting with West Coast and Texas, and there would be no MLS now.
FIFA allows Canadien teams to play in an American league, Welsh teams to play in an English league, and New Zealand teams to play in an Australian league. It would take a little wrangling but it can be sold as being good for world football giving world-class players in their prime another continent to choose. The Mexican Federation would not like it but they would like the next Messi's and Ronaldo's in their primes paying visits and they would like the money the TV revenue generates for their federation. At the end of the day, there would be too much money to be made for FIFA or the Mexican Federation to stand in the way of this.
FIFA allows it in a few historic cases and sometimes makes a new exception when a country lacks its own league, not in a situation like this. I think you probably underestimate Liga MX and Mexican soccer financially too. Chivas get over 50 mil USD annually from TV right now. You are asking them to give that up and instead share MLS TV revenue with 39 other clubs. So MLS would need to make over 2 billion USD from TV each year, otherwise Chivas don't even get their money back.
If Chivas can make $50 million from TV revenue from its Mexican TV deal and Spanish-language American TV deal playing in a mediocre league, I would think it can make more playing in a Top 3 league, a league that is on TV sets in every country in the world. Liga MX has very little appeal in Europe and South America currently. I'm just saying if you add 10 teams with enormous fanbases and an enormous market in Mexico along with investing in world-class players in their prime, the money has to work out. Maybe a kid like James Rodrigues picks Chivas in a world-class MLS instead of Real Madrid.
Because it would allow 10 Mexican clubs to play in a Top 3 world-class league, make more money, keep Mexican stars, and attract top-level Europeans and South Americans. This assumes the money is right. If MLS is ever going to be a Top 3 league, having a killer TV deal is a must, and adding the Mexican teams helps in that regard. The assumption is that the Mexican teams can make more money in a world-class MLS than in Liga MX.
Umm no. Liga MX and MLS are not going to be a top 3 league sepperate or combined in the foreseeable future.
It wont take the EPL or La Liga, But overall, MLS should be bigger than Ligue 1, and Serie A in 20 years. And if MLS can capitalize the US and the Germans can't, it should be bigger than the Bundesliga as well. It is still an if but I think it is a safe bet on 3 within 20 years. It will have 32 teams and none of the other leagues will come close to this. So while Barca, Madrid, Milan, BM, PSG all will still be much larger clubs within their leagues, the base support and structure of the league favors the MLS to have more money overall.
^Strange rationale. What you seem to be talking about almost sounds like a North American Soccer League? I think the idea of a NA Superleague would be better than this though. Something MLS, Liga-MX, (eventual CPL) could be promoted to. It wouldn't fly with the rest of the Liga MX if you poached their top flight teams and added them to the whole MLS. Anyways we have CCL anyways so what is the point of this purposed merger really about? If the leagues make money as they are and they're growing -which seems to be the case- then leave it be. The CCL is where bigger TV coverage and $$$ needs to be invested right now. If CCL TV coverage, revenue, popularity and prize money go up in future years, then the international community will pay more attention. <- seems to be the desire you want.
Have to disagree. Here's why. At this moment in time worldwide Juvetus alone is bigger than all of MLS combined. AC Milan as well. Inter, Roma, Lazio, Napoli are easily bigger than any single club in MLS (could argue for others as well like Sampdoria or Fiorentina). And while yes the league is down at the moment it wasn't that long ago, early 2000's, that it was the top league. So I don't believe MLS even combined with the Liga MX would challenge Serie A. And I would be willing to put a large quantity of money on that. Also haven't even gotten into the champions league. With the current world structure I don't think anyone can challenge the top leagues from outside of Europe.
No chance of this happening. More teams does not mean better, talent gets watered down. More importantly, starting Jan 20, this country will go downhill, so who knows if the league will even exist in 20 years. The OP is way off. The Galaxy and Dynamo should join LMX, that's about it.
that's what I was thinking leave out almost half of Liga MX and include teams that are not even D1 teams some merger
I have no Idea what the Mexican league thinks, but it completely irrelevant. MLS will not merge with another league. MLS has steadily increased its brand, talent, and revenue since its inception. It has a business model that is working. The league is growing. I have been living overseas for some time now. I am always surprise on how much better the league seems to get each year. I can still remember all of the "gimmicks" it thought it had to do to attract fans. It no longer does any of that. The league went from playing in horrible football stadiums to having SSS. The league has been taking gradual and calculated steps to improving and until now, it has been successful. I do not think we have to "sprint" to be on par with Bundesliga, Serie A or the EPL. The league will get there in due course. The goal of MLS is when the best players are not European exports, but homegrown talent within MLS. Once that happens, even the better European players would welcome a move to a US club. Will this happen in 10, 20 30 years is anyone's guess. It is, however, something that cannot be force. I also do not see a point of merging two of the largest leagues within CONCACAF. We also already have a "Champions League."
That depends on what you consider "due course". If "due course" encompasses decades, or even centuries, then none of us are clairvoyant enough to have any idea as to what the state of any league or nation might be at that time. In a few decades it is as likely that MLS becomes a major league as it is that the US collapses completely... or Mexico does... or Africa becomes one nation, or 100... or there are no nations... or the Earth's core stops rotating eliminating our natural magnetosphere causing solar radiation to kill off all of us and we all go extinct rendering the question moot. I think that the league on it's current trajectory is more likely than not to approach the level of top leagues simply based on current conditions. People like to say that "everyone else is going to improve in that time" which is true, but it ignores the law of diminishing returns. This is a financial law which can, in some cases, describe scientific and human phenomena as well. In other words, it is harder to improve on an already improved product than it is to match a certain level from a lower point. Just like it takes more energy to increase velocity from an already high level of velocity it also is equally difficult to improve the best footballing nations in the world from the high level that they already inhabit. A footballer can only be so technical, carry so much vision or skill as a human body can possibly contain and even then no player can be perfect. So it will always be easier to catch up to the best than it is for the best to continue to expand the gap between their level and those trying to overtake them. This doesn't mean that they will definitely be overtaken, but that if all sides input equal overall levels of resources but have started at different levels at the outset, they're all more likely to end up around the same point because at a certain point it is very difficult to improve much more.