David Beckham's Miami team set to get MLS green light
The
announcement comes three years after the former England captain exercised an
option in his LA Galaxy contract to own a franchise.
Having won a court battle over the purchase of land for a
25,000-seater stadium, Beckham's group can proceed with becoming an MLS
expansion team.
The
league is planning to increase the
number of teams from 22 to 28.
It
added Minnesota United and Atlanta United in 2017 with Los Angeles FC set to
join city-rivals Galaxy in 2018.
There
are also 12 groups competing for four more spots in the MLS. A decision on who
two of the newcomers will be is expected in December.
The
MLS told the BBC it has not set a date when it will include the new Miami team
in the league.
MLS
spokesperson Dan Courtemanche told BBC Sport: "We look forward to working
with David, Todd Boehly [majority owner] and their partners to finalise their
expansion plan.
"David
and his partners have committed a significant amount of time and resources to
put everything in place to bring Miami the elite-level soccer team and stadium
it richly deserves.
"We
expect to make an official announcement to launch a new Miami expansion club in
the coming months."
The
other partners involved in the as-yet-unnamed team include former Spice Girls
manager Simon Fuller, Bolivian-American businessman Marcelo Claure and sports
executive Tim Leiweke.
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