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More franchises in the loss-making MLS

A new MLS season is upon us and if you want basic details about the teams (sorry franchises), sponsors and TV contracts, you can find them here: Commercial guide

By 2022 the competition which had 24 franchises last season is expected to have 30 teams. Any expansion beyond that, given that relegation is out of the question (it would scare off the investors), would presumably require two 'conferences' and play offs between the top teams, as happens in baseball.

Buying a franchise now getting very expensive, even though hardly any MLS teams have turned a profit in the last 25 years, but then normal profitability criteria do not apply in soccer. David Tepper, a hedge fund billionaire, paid $325m last December for the 30th franchise in Charlotte, North Carolina. You could get a half decent European team for that price. MLS is open only to new entrants willing to pay 'expansion fees' which are then shared between existing owners.

Last year Meg Whitman, the former Hewlett-Packard and eBay chief executive, paid $100m for a 20 per cent stake in FC Cincinatti, valuing the club at $500m. Half of the 20 per cent Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan held in Los Angeles FC was recently bought out, giving the club a valuation of over $700m: LAFC

MLS commissioner Don Garber insists that the profits are coming saying that franchise owners were in something he called 'deep investment mode' undertaking tasks such as building stadiums. They were willing to sustain losses as the MLS grew.

Writing in the Financial Times Muran Ahmed noted that European leagues are significantly higher in quality and offer better wages to entice the best players (the MLS has player salary caps). US television ratings for EPL matches consistently beat those for MLS games. Since 2000, no MLS side has even won the North American version of the Champions League which has been dominated by Mexico's Liga MX.

What would a franchise system look like in the UK if population was the main criterion?

This involves some big assumptions as city boundaries do not reflect those of a larger urban area. I have paid some attention to football history and given London six franchises; Birmingham two; Manchester two; Liverpool two; and Glasgow two. These are also largely justified by population. The remaining sixteen franchises (one each)would go to:

  • Bristol
  • Sheffield
  • Leeds
  • Edinburgh
  • Leicester
  • Coventry
  • Bradford
  • Cardiff
  • Belfast
  • Nottingham
  • Hull
  • Newcastle
  • Stoke
  • Southampton
  • Derby
  • Portsmouth

Five of these cities in the above list have teams in the Premier League (two are not eligible). The Americans would probably give more weight to expanding, prosperous areas, so Brighton might qualify for example.

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