Former England captain David Beckham has put Miami in pole position to possibly become the 21st team in Major League Soccer after constructive meetings and tours of stadiums in South Florida yesterday.
Beckham, who was courtside at a Miami Heat game on Thursday night with Miami billionaire Marcelo Claure, toured Sun Life Stadium and FIU Stadium in Miami on Saturday, where he met the county’s mayor and local soccer fans. Beckham was positive with what he saw:
“I think bringing an MLS team here to South Florida would be… it’s exciting.
“I think Miami fans are very passionate about their sports and very passionate about winning and of course, it would have to be success but it’s definitely exciting.”
The fact that Beckham chose Miami as the site for his first serious exploration into finding a location for a future MLS team is very positive. The southeastern region of the United States, which represents 25% of the entire US population, hasn’t had a MLS team in 12 years, so there’s certainly a hunger and demand for a top-quality team in the region.
Whether Miami, the city, is a prime location for a team in the southeast is debatable. While Miami is sexy internationally, the city already has three competing professional teams (Dolphins, Heat and Marlins). A better move for Beckham would be to consider Fort Lauderdale as the site for a new MLS team in South Florida, where the location would attract soccer fans from a wider area instead of just Miami.
Beckham is in the area until Tuesday, so let’s hope he makes time to tour Lockhart Stadium in Broward County as a potential venue for a MLS team, too.
What do you think about former England captain David Beckham’s desire to bring a MLS team to Miami? Other than Miami, what other US cities should he consider for a MLS franchise? Will a MLS team in South Florida work? Give us your opinions in the comments section below.
Here are today’s Premier League news headlines:
- David Beckham says prospect of owning Miami MLS team “exciting” — Reuters
- Newcastle’s tale of two seasons: Why Pardew is to blame for gutless decline — Sabotage Times
- Richard Dunne says his Aston Villa career is over because of Paul Lambert — Sky Sports
- Jose Mourinho will rejoin Chelsea over the summer says Real Madrid president — Sky Sports
- Premier League apologises for Chelsea statement error — The Guardian
- Danny Gabbidon wants to extend his stay at Crystal Palace — Sky Sports
- Phil Jones will start against Brazil at the Maracana today — Evening Standard
- Steve Clarke says he wants Youssouf Mulumbu to stay with West Brom — Sky Sports
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