As Major League Soccer (MLS) begins its 30th season in 2025, it reflects on its resilience since nearly folding in the early 2000s. Despite challenges, shrewd business decisions regarding team expansion, stadium development, and youth academies have solidified its status. With global icons like Lionel Messi playing in the league, ESPN discusses its potential trajectory over the next three decades, considering its ranking among the world's leagues, future structure such as promotion/relegation, and how it might evolve to compete with America's other major sports.
MLS has lasted this long - more than any other top-flight professional soccer league in the U.S. and Canada in the modern era - highlights its strongest attribute, namely its resilience.
Thanks to some savvy business decisions by its owners in terms of expansion, stadium construction and youth academy development, the league is on firmer footing.
ESPN wanted to understand what MLS might look like in another 30 years. Will it have reached its oft-stated goal of being one of the top leagues in the world?
MLS is currently the "10th-best (or so)" league in the world. With that as a baseline, how possible is it that MLS can continue to climb that ladder?
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