The New York Times interviewed Don Garber, Commissioner of Major League Soccer. He took over in 1999 after the league lost a quarter of a billion in its first five seasons, but things may be on an upswing. Attendance is up considerably this season, buoyed by the interest that international tabloid star David Beckham has brought. The league has landed some big corporate sponsors, its first long-term TV deal, and is expanding in size.
According to Garber, Beckham has had a huge impact: "We have sold more than 300,000 Beckham Los Angeles Galaxy jerseys, which was 700 times the number of Galaxy jerseys sold in 2006. Merchandise sales over all have gone up two or three times. International TV sales have gone up from next to nothing to distribution in 100 countries, with live games in Asia and Mexico."
But he also points out that, because of injuries, Beckham hasn't yet contributed on the field, but there's always next year. You have to worry about the quality of MLS' growth given that -- a 700-fold increase in sales of Galaxy jerseys for a tabloid-star who hasn't played much so far.
But it sounds like MLS is doing things right on a lot of other fronts so maybe the league will find success -- it may not become the fifth major sport, but it is developing a nice niche following.
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