By Andrew Warshaw in Manchester
March 3 – Don Garber (pictured), the Commissioner of the Major League Soccer (MLS), says football in his country has come on leaps and bounds but still has a long way to go to match the established sports in the United States.
Speaking at the Soccerex conference here Garber says football – known as soccer in the US – has never been more popular but that the country will never return to the old days when big-name superstars coming to the end of their careers were signed up on huge fees to the deteriment of the grass-roots game.
“There is a real buzz about soccer right now,” said Garber.
“”But we are conscious of having the right model.
“That means a slow steady cautious approach.
“If someone asks Christiano Ronaldo to come, that would be the end.
“Fans now are are waving flags like supporters in Italy, Spain or England.
“They look and feel and sound like supporters in the rest of the world.”
Garber believes the salary ceiling in the MLS is a model Europe should seriously consider matching.
“The system prevents owners from hurting themselves.
“The worst team still gets to pick first in the draft but if you develop a player through the academy you get to keep the rights to that player.”
Garber insisted that David Beckham’s (pictured) move to the Los Angeles Galaxy had been hugely successful and that contrary to some reports the England midfielder, who was allowed to switch back to AC Milan, would return to the US after the World Cup.
“David will be back, no doubt about that,” he said.
There are always going to be people, particularly in England, that look at everything and don’t see the positives.
“Have there been challenges with him going back and forth?
“Absolutely, but sometimes that kind of buzz is good.
“Football is a phenomenon in the United States now.”
“David exploded our revenues.
“Our attendances went up around the league.
“Our television ratings on ESPN were three times higher when David came into the league.
“We have done what he asked us to do which was to let him go to Milan.
“I’m not sure that if we had been faced with making that decision three years ago we would have done the same thing because it certainly has been controversial.
“But at the end of the day to use a baseball euphemism, it’s been a home run for us.”
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