MLS: The Farmers’ League

By JEHAN BOER ‘21

Since its formation in 1995, the MLS, or Major League Soccer, has always taken harsh criticism for being seen as a low-level soccer division. Compared to the larger European leagues, the MLS is viewed a “farmers’ league:” a league that shouldn’t be taken seriously. In recent years though, its title of “farmers’ league” has been slowly changing due to its increasing popularity among other countries and especially among those larger European countries. However, these European countries aren’t interested in the league itself.  They are interested instead in the amount of talent that comes from the league. Only a few months ago, Canadian big-name striker, Alphonso Davies, signed a pricey, long-term contract for German powerhouse Bayern Munich, signalling the start of a new MLS.

MLS is the professional league that represents soccer in the highest level in the United States and Canada. From when it started to a few decades ago, the MLS was not a big deal in the United States and Canada because many people view soccer as a foreign sport. The league saw many difficulties in its early stages including low attendance and harsh ratings. All of its problems were mostly due to lack of popularity, and this caused it to lose a substantial amount of money in every single season. Not only was the MLS unpopular in North America, but it was also unpopular in other nations, including the European countries. MLS took a swing at improving the league and increasing popularity by trying to “Americanize” the sport and adding several unneeded rules to make the league more interesting. You can imagine why those from countries where soccer was a bigger deal would look at the MLS as if it were a joke. In 2002, the MLS was in very poor condition.

The MLS was saved by the 2002 World Cup in which the United States national team surprisingly made it to the quarterfinals with victories against Mexico and European stronghold, Portugal. After this run in the World Cup, the MLS saw increased views and record attendances. MLS soccer was becoming more popular in the United States and Canada, and in the years following it was increasingly taken more seriously around the world. The next years saw many MLS players, names like DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan, leaving for smaller European teams, a large step going forward for Major League Soccer.

Perhaps due to the MLS’ increasing popularity, youth soccer became more popular in the United States. More parents wanted their children to play soccer, and therefore more kids grew up playing soccer. The MLS saw increased talent in their teams’ academies. An example of this is 18 year old Canadian Alphonso Davies. Davies grew up in Edmonton, Canada, and was good enough to join the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy when he was 14. Impressing at all levels of youth and academy soccer, Davies made his MLS debut at age 16. He managed to stay consistent in his performances and caught the eye of European powerhouse Bayern Munich, one of the best teams in Europe. At the age of only 17, Alphonso Davies transferred to Bayern from the MLS for an MLS record of 22 million dollars.

Many other young soccer players have made the journey from the MLS to Europe, but Alphonso Davies’ MLS record transfer is a very big deal, almost the start of a new MLS. Because of Davies, the MLS and its quality are now seen in a very different light, as it is proving to produce quality players. The MLS is now taken very seriously and is seen as a high-ranking league as is growing and producing players who are taking the opportunity to compete in some of the best teams in the world, almost giving it’s nickname of “farmers league” a new meaning.