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facilities, thereby consigning the game
to also-ran status on the global level.
East, though, argues that the lack
of cashmay not be such a bad thing.
“Unlike the Premier League, there’s
not this sense that you cannot afford
to lose,”he says.“There’s lesspressure.”
And toomuchpressure,aseverysoccer
nutknows,cankill agamedead.“Even
my friends, themore theywatch, the
more they say theyenjoy it.”
It’s telling that East mentions his
friends.No matter how ardent they
maybe,theoverseascontingentremains
small—somethingMLS isworking to
change. “Growing the league interna-
tionally is very important to us,”says
MarisabelMuñoz,MLS’s vice presi-
dent of communications.To this end,
MLSrecentlysignedaneight-yeardeal
withglobalmarketing firm IMG.This
development represents an about-face
for the league.“Ispoke to[MLSCom-
missioner]DonGarber awhile back,
andhesaidthat internationalexpansion
will comewhen the league has sorted
itself out,”Bidmead says.“Hewants to
get thegamewherehewants it tobe in
America,and then they’ll reachout.”
It’s safe to say thatMLS isn’t quite
where it wants to be just yet.For one
thing, the game is still nowhere near
the so-called Big Four—football,
baseball,basketball,hockey—in terms
of cultural entrenchment.ManyMLS
regulations—suchasrefusingtoadopta
promotion-and-relegationformat—put
it at odds with the rest of the world.
And there’s thematterof finances:The
league’s annual losses are said to be in
the region of $100million, a fact that
raisesthespecteroftheNorthAmerican
SoccerLeague,whichimplodedin1984,
17veryexpensiveyears after its launch.
The collapse last year of the Los
Angeles–based franchiseChivasUSA
should serve as a warning to those
inclined to get ahead of themselves.
That said, this time around a rush of
big-name(anddeep-pocketed)backers
hasgotten involved,including the likes
of Magic Johnson,Mia Hamm and
NomarGarciaparra.DavidBeckham
isworking to launchanexpansionclub
inMiami.Again, though, it’s not all
smooth sailing.Finding a permanent
homeforBeckham’steamhasprovedto
beproblematic; likesomuchelseabout
MLS,theMiamiproject isup intheair.
This doesn’t botherEast. In fact,he
says, it’s the sense that anything could
happen—or not—that makes MLS
so enthralling. “TheEnglishPremier
League is about asbigas it canget,but
MLS isgrowing.I’mveryconfidentthat
it will become one of the best leagues
in theworld.”Hepauses andadds,“Of
course,I’m talkinghypothetically.”
thefan
Hemispheres London bureau chief
CHRISWRIGHT
has endured a lifetime
of anxiety as a result of his support for
Chelsea FC. He would not recommend
that anyone get involved in the game.
