David Beckham helped Los Angeles Galazy to a 2-1 semi-final win against the New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer (MLS) play-offs, putting his team in the Western Conference final. But he is nearing the end of his five-year contract in the States and is considering his options. He doesn’t want to retire and Paris St. Germain as well as unnamed Premiership clubs have come calling. Then there is the Olympics to look forward to where the British team is likely to made up of Becks and ten others.
David Beckham helped Los Angeles Galazy to a 2-1 semi-final win against the New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer (MLS) play-offs, putting his team in the Western Conference final. But he is nearing the end of his five-year contract in the States and is considering his options. He doesn’t want to retire and Paris St. Germain as well as unnamed Premiership clubs have come calling. Then there is the Olympics to look forward to where the British team is likely to made up of Becks and ten others.
But what has he done for MLS? When he signed his contract it was hailed as a breakthrough for the league which has to compete with the popularity of baseball, basketball, American football and ice hockey. He said when he signed up that his mission was to make soccer ‘as big here as everywhere else in the world.’
That was a big ask and by that tough benchmark, he has failed. Soccer continues to remain a huge participatory sport in the US for children and young people through to university age. Women’s college soccer is particularly well supported, in part to meet equality of provision criteria. But the game continues to lag behind the top four sports in TV ratings and is not even close to matching its popularity in Europe. European expats and Hispanics are important sources of support.
Since Becks arrived in LA, attendances have fluctuated at the 27,000 capacity Home Depot Center. In part this is because Becks himself has been away injured or on loan and some came to see his presence as a bit of a gimmick. The team’s form has also been patchy.
Attendances were pushing 21,000 the year before he arrived and rose subsequently only to fall in 2009. This season the average match day attendance is 23,335. That is the attendance a decent Championship side might attract, but in a metropolis with a massive population, albeit very spread out so that driving to the stadium can take time on choked freeways.
Interest in the elite European leagues is rising with English Premier League matches screened on ESPN attracting on average the same number of viewers as MLS. The recent sale of media rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup more than doubled the value of the previous contract. Fox (part of News Corp.) and Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo paid $1.2bn. By contrast the new MLS deal with NBC starting in 2012 is estimated to be worth $10m a year.
Beckham’s presence has not done as much as was hoped, but it has raised the profile of the MLS. The number of teams is up from 14 in 2007 to 19 for the 2012 season.