Don Garber has served as Major League Soccer’s commissioner since 1999, but his reign could be nearing its twilight as MLS owners have reportedly put the wheels of his succession plan in motion.
MLS owners met to discuss Garber’s potential succession plan prior to the Board of Governors meeting where sweeping changes to the league’s format were announced last week, per the Sports Business Journal.
The constant growth MLS has experienced under Garber’s two-plus decades as commissioner are evident. What was viewed almost as an experimental league has evolved to become one of the strongest this side of the Atlantic Ocean, constantly attracting more and more of the world’s top players.
However, according to the report, a change in leadership could be fast approaching. MLS Deputy Commissioner and Garber’s right-hand man over the past decade-plus, Gary Stevenson already revealed he plans to retire following the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Garber’s current contract runs until 2027, the year when MLS’s widely praised calendar change will be installed. However, there’s been nothing but silence regarding Garber’s potential renewal. At present, Garber is the second longest tenured commissioner among the major sports leagues in the U.S.
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MLS 3.0 Could Be Don Garber’s Final Act As MLS Commissioner
Seeing his self-named MLS 3.0 plan fully put in place could be Garber’s last dance as well as his lasting legacy.
Adopting the calendar of the major European leagues in the world was the first of three steps to Garber’s dream MLS restructure.
The remaining two are changing: reshaping the MLS regular season and playoff format, followed by modernizing MLS’s roster-building strategy to compete with the top leagues in the world. The latter is, per The Athletic, the most important of the three steps.
Whether Garber’s MLS 3.0 dream becomes a reality is yet to be seen. He’s on the right track, but there’s no guarantee he’ll still be at the job to see it through to full completion.
Stevenson, though, is confident that MLS 3.0 will become a reality in comments he made to SBJ: “In the next eight months, we’re going to put the finishing touches on MLS 3.0 so that once I leave, and I think once [Garber] leaves, it’ll be in a place that next group can take it and evolve it.”
If his words are correct, then him and Garber could very well be responsible for the biggest transformation in MLS history.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLS Owners Initiate Plan to Replace League Commissioner—Report.
