5 reasons we’ll be watching MLS in the future
Major League Soccer has designs on becoming one of the top leagues in the world. Its own executives have consistently said that the goal is to be considered as such by 2022, which as 2018 begins, now leaves them just four years to achieve that ambitious target.
The league certainly has some things going for it and with further selling points emerging, it has a chance of becoming an attractive product for the worldwide market, even if not a top league in terms of outright quality, by the time 2022 rolls around.
Here are five reasons we’ll be watching MLS in four years.
#1 The Atmosphere
Attendance figures for MLS matches have been on a steady upward curve in recent years, and the average attendance reached a new high of 22,113 in 2017.
That average was higher than those in France’s Ligue 1 and the Dutch Eredivisie in their respective 2016-17 campaigns and only marginally behind the average achieved in Italy’s Serie A. In total, only six leagues had greater average attendances than MLS.
In addition to sheer numbers, the establishment of various grassroots supporters groups intent on creating a similar atmosphere to those seen in European and South American stadiums has improved the spectacle inside MLS stadiums. Some of their appropriation of ultra chants and attitude may come across as cringe-worthy, but the noise they generate certainly adds to the product.
One of the selling points of the English Premier League is the full stadiums and consistently good atmosphere. MLS looks to be on its way towards replicating that, which will offer a further incentive for those considering following the league.