TURNING 30

As Major League Soccer welcomes its 30th club ahead of its 30th season, Jon Arnold reflects on the last three decades of top-flight soccer in the United States

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Even the most diligent followers of Major League Soccer, those who have seen all 29 past seasons, will struggle to decide which "version" of MLS the league is now running.

The start of the MLS 2.0 era was clear. David Beckham arrived amidst a boom of clubs building their own venues, stadiums that would allow them to create better environments than those fans experienced in cavernous stadiums shared with American football teams - and crucially let them keep more of the revenue generated on matchdays.

Now, Lionel Messi is here, matches are broadcast almost exclusively on Apple's streaming service and teams increasingly not only buy top talents from abroad but produce rising stars in their academies.

As the league prepares to turn 30, whether we're living MLS 4.0, 5.0 or still stuck somewhere in the 3.3 range depends on who you ask. Long-time commissioner Don Garber sees a bright future for the league, and plenty of independent analysts agree. Others feel the league is making missteps that will keep it from ever reaching its stated goal of being one of the best in the world and from ever competing with the US sports behemoths like the NFL and NBA that always have loomed as insurmountable rivals.

What is certain is no one could've seen just how the league would grow and evolve when it started play in 1996.

MLS started because of one World Cup and now is betting much of its future on seeing a boom from another. The league launched in the wake of the 1994 tournament on US soil, a success from a business perspective thanks to the American football stadiums, the eager community of curious American fans, and the huge diaspora populations living in the US.