MLS chief says leave US soccer to its own way

MANCHESTER: MLS chief Don Garber on Wednesday pleaded for US soccer to be left to run its own system with no relegation or promotion which he said could threaten its existence.
With the MLS celebrating its 20th anniversary, Garber also said he was increasingly confident that David Beckham has overcome obstacles that have blocked the creation of a landmark new team in Miami.
Fears have been raised that a new FIFA leadership to be elected next year could signal a change in attitude towards the United States, where the closed league has no relegation and takes a long winter break because of the harsh weather in the north.
“We are certainly hopeful that they will continue to allow us to do what we have done pretty effectively — which is grow the game in our country in a way which has probably exceeded most people’s expectations,” Garber said on the sidelines of the Soccerex convention in Manchester,
“We are new to this. We dont have 100 years of professional soccer history.
“We are trying to do that in a way that ensures that we are around for a long period of time.”
Garber said the current system “ensures some level of financial stability. It also allows you to create a fan base.”
“We have got to go into markets like Columbus and get people to be soccer fans and Kansas City, where at one point we were thinking about moving that team.”
A year after spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a new stadium, Sporting Kansas City won the MLS title in 2013.
“I don’t know who we are harming. Our calendar works for us because it would be really bad for our fans and our players to play in February when it is (below freezing) and there is four feet of snow on the ground. Who is that good for?”
Garber said promotion and relegation “would create a level of instability in an immature market that could crater the very existence of our league. Who is that good for?”
The MLS also hopes for the arrival of more foreign stars and the creation of Beckham’s team to help a new boom.