Beckham set to launch long-sought Miami MLS club

Miami (AFP) – Former England captain David Beckham will unveil his long-sought Major League Soccer expansion team at a Monday news conference in Miami, bringing a conclusion to a turmoil-filled four-year quest.

MLS announced Friday it will “make a major announcement regarding the future of soccer in Miami” on Monday, inviting ticketed members of the public to what is expected to be the announcement of a 25th league club.

The team is expected to begin MLS play in 2020 at a 25,000-seat stadium to be built in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood.

Just over 11 years after announcing he would leave Real Madrid for the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy in a deal that included the chance to purchase an expansion team at a reduced rate, Beckham will make good on plans he first announced in February 2014. 

Several failed stadium sites delayed his consortium’s efforts, other MLS teams making their debuts while Beckham struggled to get his off the ground, unable to find an agreeable place for a specially built venue.

The group edged closer to success last year after securing a land deal for a proposed stadium project, waterfront sites and others near the Miami Marlins baseball stadium and NBA Miami Heat arena having earlier fallen though.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber said last month the Miami franchise project was “the most complicated situation in any market that we’ve experienced” because of the Miami area political structure and fast-changing real estate environment.

Beckham, 42, retired in 2013 after a 20-year career that saw him win league crowns with Manchester United in England, Real Madrid in Spain, the Galaxy in North America and Paris Saint-Germain in his farewell matches.

He also played for England from 1996 to 2009, his mastery of curving free kicks inspiring the movie title “Bend It Like Beckham.”