Miami Excluded From MLS Expansion Finalists, But Beckham's Franchise Still In Play
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - On Wednesday, Major League Soccer revealed four finalists for two available expansion spots: Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville, and Sacramento.
Upon seeing this, South Floridians began to raise eyebrows, wondering how Miami could be left out after three-plus years of work from David Beckham and his investment group.
Miami soccer fans can breathe at least a small sigh of relief. Beckham's franchise is not subject to this expansion bid.
According to the MLS news release, talks in Miami are still progressing.
The four ownership groups above were among 12 markets that submitted formal bids in January for a total of four expansion slots as part of the league's expansion to 28 teams. Los Angeles Football Club, which kicks off in 2018, will be the league's 23rd club, while expansion discussions continue in Miami.
In short, the MLS is expanding to 26 teams in the near future, before eventually hitting 28. With Los Angeles FC already set to be number 23, Beckham's Miami club is earmarked to be number 24, with the two winning bids from today's final four rounding out the field.
While there's still no guarantee that MLS in Miami comes to fruition, as reflected in Tim Leiweke's comments to the Toronto Sun, today's news on expansion finalists have no effect on the process.