MLS commissioner Don Garber said that he does not “think that there is a dependency today, the same way there was years ago” on the part of his league when it comes to the success of the US national team at the World Cup.
Garber made the remarks at his annual state of the league address, which traditionally takes place the week of MLS Cup in whichever city happens to hosting. This year, however, Garber delivered the remarks and took questions from media at Audi Field, home of DC United, the night before the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup. The US is hotly anticipating the reveal of their opponents for the tournament they will co-host, with the level of competition likely helping determine whether the US can advance past the quarter-finals, which would be its best finish in the modern era.
Garber said that while US head coach Mauricio Pochettino “selects a lot of MLS players” in his final squad for the World Cup, that the league does not necessarily need the team to do well in order to maximize the “World Cup bump” that traditionally accompanies the tournament.
“I can remember in 2002 as we were preparing for an exciting time for American players in our league, and we sat back in our offices and said, ‘We need to sign as many American players to be playing for Major League Soccer,’ he said. ”We had this thought that we pivoted on the success of our national team in order to succeed.”
Garber now said that, thanks to the growing number of international players – particularly high-profile ones – that impetus is slightly less in the modern era.
“We have 80 different countries to represent,” Garber said. “We have 37 players who are competing for their national team. We’ll have multiple players playing for Argentina. We’ll have the captain or star player [Lionel Messi]we are so excited about the stars that compete in our league.”
Vancouver Whitecaps face ‘tough decisions’
At one point Garber was asked about the future of one of the teams competing in tomorrow’s MLS Cup final. The Vancouver Whitecaps have capped the best season in their history and one of the best seasons in the league this year with a run to the final, with the midseason acquisition of Thomas Müller giving the team a boost before meeting Inter Miami and Messi in the showpiece occasion.
However, the team began the year with ownership exploring a sale owing to the team’s unfavorable lease at BC Place, the centrally located stadium where the Whitecaps are tenants.
“The MLS team, its owners, its fans, its players have done everything to earn the support that they’re not getting today from the city and the province,” Garber said.
“What more can you do? Go to the final and basically convince the entire country that MLS is an important and valuable part of his sporting landscape. We’ve been building soccer stadiums, we’re soon to have 30 of them. We’re tenants in BC Place.”
after newsletter promotion
Garber had praise for Vancouver as a market, calling it “one of the better soccer cities in North America”. And he pointed out that BC Place will host World Cup games in 2026. But he said that as it applies to the Whitecaps, “what we have there has to change.”
Garber said there had been no movement on creating a new stadium for the Whitecaps in the area despite being in negotiations with various authorities for over a year. The club hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to broker a sale last year, but no concrete news of potential buyers have emerged.
“We’re in the business of delivering for the people that really, really want to have an MLS team,” Garber said. “We need to wait and see if the cities and province want to do that do that. If they don’t we’ll have to make some tough decisions.”
