Beckham’s Miami To Join MLS In Near Future!
A few minutes ago at Miami’s bayfront art museum Don Garber, MLS Commissioner, and David Beckham announced that Miami will have a Major League Soccer team in the near future.
Garber announced that Beckham has exercised his right to an MLS team as per the contract he negotiated when he joined LA Galaxy. No announcement was made in regard to a potential MLS start date as Beckham now has to find a stadium location as well as a team of investors willing to take the bid forward.
Beckham joined LA Galaxy in 2007 and spent the best part of six years playing in Los Angeles making 98 appearances and scoring 18 goals. He also played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and he also made 115 appearance for the England national team. He was the first English player to win league titles in four countries and has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year.
The move makes perfect sense for the Beckham family as wife Victoria is heavily involved in the fashion industry. Having lived in London, Los Angeles, Milan and now Miami, the Beckham family is ideally positioned to continue their respective careers in football (soccer) and fashion.
The work now begins to find a site for a new downtown Miami MLS stadium for the team. Beckham was very clear that no public funding would be sought for the stadium and that the cost would be met by the clubs owners and investors. A search has identified five possible sites in and around downtown Miami, including a waterfront lot next to the port of Miami’s cruise ship terminal, potentially putting the new team at the forefront of Miami’s tourism landscape. The port site is within walking distance of the NBA’s Miami Heat arena and within easy reach of the Miami Beach hotel district.
Beckham will now begin work on finding the right investors and the right structure to move towards a final deal with Major League Soccer. Here in Orlando, we welcome this news as it now provides for real competition in Florida for the world’s most popular sport. Beckham’s iconic status is bound to raise the game to another level much as he has done where-ever he has played in the world before.
