When Don Garber was named MLS commissioner in 1999, the Los Angeles Times ran an editorial claiming that the former NFL international senior vice president was a "bad choice in any language" for the job. Here was a businessman with little apparent soccer knowledge, brought in to run a struggling league, the supposed centerpiece of the growth of a sport still relatively fresh in the mainstream consciousness of the U.S. landscape.
Twenty-five years later, it would seem some of the critics got it wrong. Garber has now been at the helm for a quarter of a century, and during his tenure, MLS has undergone immense growth, both in terms of size and profitability. What was once a struggling institution is now central to an ever-growing U.S. soccer landscape, a real hub of the beautiful game in a country that is embracing the sport more every day.
This didn't all happen overnight, though. Some of Garber's changes were immediate, but most of MLS's growth has come over time, with key events assisting the notoriety of the league on the global stage. Garber, who celebrates his 25th anniversary as MLS commissioner this month, helped rescue the league from collapse and now leads an MLS that has grown in profile both in the U.S. and internationally.
“MLS has driven the rise of a soccer nation in America and Canada," Garber told the Associated Press. "And that sounds like it’s amorphous, but it’s not. That’s the most important accomplishment, that we built a powerful soccer nation. We’ve been the driver of the growth of the beautiful game in our region at so many different levels. We have become a respected league in the eyes of players, fans and institutions that govern the sport. I am most proud of that. ”
GOAL US takes a look at some of the major changes Garber has made to help MLS become a major player in world soccer.