Could MLS really merge with Liga MX? Sporting KC’s Peter Vermes discusses possibility
As the suspension of all professional sports drags on in the U.S. and the sports world grows increasingly impatient for the resumption of games, a certain soccer rumor continues to grow and circulate, even in the midst of this global pandemic.
Could there be a merger between Major League Soccer and Mexico’s Liga MX?
The topic was thrust back into the limelight earlier this month when Liga MX president Enrique Bonilla was interviewed on ESPN about the uncertain future of Mexico’s top two soccer tiers, and whether merger with MLS is being explored.
The proposal of combining the two leagues by a tentative date of 2026 is nothing but speculation right now, but subtle moves made on either side of the border are setting up at least such a possibility.
The rumored proposal outlines a 50-team league — 30 from MLS and 20 from Liga MX. Charlotte and Austin are set to become the 29th and 30th teams in MLS in 2021, while Liga MX is looking to increase its top tier from 18 teams to 20.
Last season also saw the introduction of the League’s Cup, an annual eight-team competition featuring four teams each from MLS and Liga MX. The 2020 MLS All-Star Game is set to feature the MLS All-Stars versus Liga MX’s All-Stars, a first for both leagues.
Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes weighed in on the possibilities during a news conference Wednesday.
“There’s no doubt that that would be a powerful brand in the marketplace, there’s no doubt,” Vermes said. “I also think that there could be some real synergies between the two leagues.”
“I think the potential for that to grow and get bigger is definitely something that all of us see the potential of.”
But is a merger of the two leagues truly feasible? What benefits or drawbacks would it entail?
Right off the bat, a 50-team league is something that is unheard of across any sport. There’s no way every team would be able to play every other team in a reasonable timespan each season, but we already see teams go years without playing each other in the NFL.
The most logical path forward would be to have five conferences of 10 teams each — similar to many other U.S. sports and an expansion from MLS’s current East-West alignment. Each team within the division plays the others home-and-home, followed by inter-division play to make up the rest of the schedule.
Another major issue would be travel. A match between Sporting Kansas City and Mexican team Pumas, for instance,would result in just under 2,800 miles there and back. For one game.
A game between Pumas and Toronto FC would result in over 4,000 miles of travel by the end of the week. While such geographically problematic matchups could be avoided to some extent, it would be impossible to do so forever. And if they’re to be avoided, what’s the point of a merger?
A combination of the leagues would bring a multitude of positives too. Chief among them is that the overall quality of the league, and its players, would rise.
On a basic level, a Mexican team has won the CONCACAF Champions League every year since 2006. An MLS side has only won the competition twice, with L.A. Galaxy being the most recent example in 2000. Six of the top eight winningest teams in the competition hail from Mexico.
There’s an argument to be made the MLS has hit its current ceiling. The league can continue adding more teams, but its best players continue to make the leap to Europe, while Liga MX continues to outclass it on the continental stage.
“I think an alliance between the two would benefit both. I would think at some point you get to a cap, a top, but now all of a sudden you start to do things together ... you can be extremely innovative,” Vermes said.
Vermes is also a fan of the playing style in Mexico, often scouting Mexican teams. Mexican players’ mindset and mentality match well with his philosophy. A merger of the leagues would bring that style into the American spotlight, and as a result it could improve the type of young American players coming through U.S. youth systems.
“There’s a lot more you can bring from a competition point of view, which I think would help develop our talent in our countries even faster and at a much more accelerating race,” Vermes said. “So I think all of those things would be positives if there was an alliance in the future.”
Of course, all of this remains nothing but speculation. Discussions about the possibility of a merger may continue behind closed doors, as revealed by Bonilla during his ESPN interview. For now, the possibility is still just fodder for discussion.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Could MLS really merge with Liga MX? Sporting KC’s Peter Vermes discusses possibility."