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Major League Soccer, or also known as MLS for short, is the top-flight professional soccer (football) league based in the United States and sanctioned by U.S. Soccer. It is comprised of 15 teams, 14 in the U.S. and one in Canada. It has been represented as the top tier of American and Canadian pyramid. It was founded in 1993 as part of the bid for the United States to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. But in 1996, Major League Soccer’s original ten teams, the Columbus Crew, D.C. United, the New England Revolution, the NY/NJ Metro Stars, the Tampa Bay Mutiny, the Colorado Rapids, the Dallas Burn, the Kansas City Wiz, the Los Angeles Galaxy and the San Jose Clash, began play. And after its first season, MLS suffered from a decline in attendance. The league’s quality was cast into doubt when the U.S. men’s national team, made up largely of MLS players, it was eliminated in the first round and finish in the last place in 2008 world cup.
According to the company of the Business week in 2004, the major League Soccer has lost more than $350 million since it has been founding. However there is still a positive signs for the profitability in the near future. MLS has managed to see their revenues increase while costs are kept to a minimum, a soccer-specific stadium is built, ownership expands and television coverage increase already. Television coverage has consistently expanded throughout the league’s history. ESPN brokered a deal with the MLS in 2006 for rights fees and a greater presence across its networks. They joined Fox Soccer Channel and HDNet as the U.S. national outlets, and the league has mandated that every league game receive television coverage either nationally or locally in one or both teams’ cities for broadcast on its Direct Kick package. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said on May 11, 2006 that he expects the league’s clubs to be profitable by 2010 overall. He reported that FC Dallas and the L.A. Galaxy are already profitable, with several other clubs nearing profitability. A year later, he revealed that the Chicago Fire, the Colorado Rapids, and Toronto FC were on track for profitability by 2008. However in 2008 there were only three profitable MLS franchises; LA Galaxy, Toronto FC and FC Dallas.