The English Premier League leaders Arsenal will visit the District of Columbia as the honoured guests this summer to participate in the MLS All-Star Game presented by Target at Audi Field. It is right to reminisce a bit about the last time the London Giants played the league’s midsummer party. The Gunners have done this before. Then they were led by Arsene Wenger to San Jose for the 2016 edition of the ASG, to christen the Earthquake’s long-awaited new home, PayPal Park (known as Avaya Stadium back then). And as is their tradition, they forfeited a goal to Didier Drogba on their way to a good 2-1 win in front of 18,000 fans. Although 2016 has not been that long, things have changed. For starts, Arsenal will be meeting a different vintage of Major League Soccer than the one they met under the NorCal sunshine that July. Huge expansion Back in 2016, MLS had only 20 teams. Ground was yet to be broken at what is now the 2023 ASG venue, Audi Field, with D.C. United was still housed at an ancient RFK Stadium for longer. The dominating Seattle Sounders had not won an MLS Cup yet, let alone the CONCACAF Champions League, with barely a single MLSer in the semifinals that year, much less a winner. The reigning champions LAFC existed, but merely in manner of speaking. Chivas USA’s successor had their name and crest, but no coach, players or stadium yet. Minnesota United was completing their last season in the NASL, three years after the launching of the glittering Allianz Field. Atlanta United’s paradigm-shifting entry into MLS was still months away. Inter Miami, Nashville SC, Austin, Charlotte FC and St. Louis CITY SC – and all the sprawling investments that followed them – were merely dreams in the eyes of their respective founders. FC Cincinnati were only a few months into their inaugural season in the USL Championship, the beginning of their outstanding path to the top flight. There are 12 stadiums total, 10 of them soccer-first and more so in the manner of training facilities, academies, staff and other infrastructure. Hosting the 2026 World Cup on North American soil was an idea, too, years from reality. All these, promise valuable levels of stability and sustainability, like what Arsenal gained in relocating from their old Highbury home to the Emirates Stadium 17 years ago. The youth system takes shape In 2016, the U22 Initiative to trigger the influx of young talent into MLS was not in existence, neither was the Leagues Cup, MLS NEXT, or MLS NEXT Pro. Some clubs and coaches needed to be convinced that the homegrown pathway project was worth investing their time into, or that importing youths with rich sell-on potential was a profitable bet. Now, the league can play a Thiago Almada or Brenden Aaronson highlight reel to measure this change. The MLS adjusted its regulation to prime the pump. Clubs now keep more of the returns they get from outbound sales, especially on local players and can use more of their transfer earnings as allocation money. Today, the U22 Push incentives for acquiring blue-chip youngsters to an extent where they added extra Designated Player slots to the rosters of those who invest here. It is not a coincidence that the average age for squads has been reduced over the past seven years. Winter of 2015-2016, the number of MLS players sold for money to overseas clubs, was less than what it is now in 2021-22. The total income for those sales was far less too. A report by the Athletic over a year ago announced last winter’s sales as adding up to close to $65 million in total base fees. Now the search for the next top prospect is more eager than ever. The Quakes’ homegrown teen Cade Cowell is the player that draws the most crowd to PayPal Park these days. Cowell was merely 13 years old over in Ceres, California, still, two years eligible from joining the academy – when Arsenal played in what is now its home stadium. Today he’s got UEFA Champions League clubs watching his career and a huge seven-digit number bandied about as a possible price tag. Club America’s Alejandro Zendejas who is the USMNT’s latest dual-national recruit was the most noteworthy homegrown sale in the summer of ‘16 going from FC Dallas to Chivas Guadalajara for a reported fee of $500,000. Last year that same FCD set several records by selling Ricardo Pepi to Augsburg on a deal estimated to be around $20 million. A world of possibility Arsenal is versed in the player development department, having dabbled in the act once or twice themselves. Besides being owned by Stan Kroenke owner/investor of the Colorado Rapids since 2018, they presently have two Americans in their squad. Philadelphia Union alumni and ex-Rapid Austin Trusty is the other one, and the one now on loan at Birmingham City; goalkeeper Matt Turner, the Gunners’ most prominent North American representative is the other. Turner stopped the US men’s national team’s run to the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup after his multi-million dollar transfer from the New England Revolution to North London early in the year. Seven years ago he was unselected in the 2016 Super Draft and was set to spend his first professional season down at Richmond Kickers. His inspiring story, just like others, portrays MLS as a place anyone can shine. Turner did not play high-level competitive soccer until well into his teens – being able to go far and fast as he did in the following years or how someone like Cowell ended up in the sights of popular European clubs and the USMNT before he was old enough to rent a car, indicates an extraordinary speed of evolution. This is why this summer’s big game symbolises a long-time reconnection with the Old Continent. The last two years brought new cross-border spectacles in partnership with Liga MX, and with the expanded Leagues

Leagues Cup on March 9th, announced the 2023 Group Stage Schedule for the tournament, disclosing the dates and location for Austin FC’s first matches in the inaugural edition of the competition. 2023 Leagues Cup Group Stage Matches at Q2 Stadium  Date Match Venue  Friday, July 21 Austin FC vs. Mazatlán FC Q2 Stadium  Tuesday, July 25  Mazatlán FC vs. FC Juárez Q2 Stadium  Saturday, July 29 Austin FC vs. FC Juárez Q2 Stadium  This January, Austin FC was put in a group next to Liga MX clubs Mazatlán FC and FC Juárez. All the group matches will be played at Q2 Stadium. The Verde & Black will play against Mazatlán on July 21 and Juárez on July 29. Then, Mazatlán and Juárez will face off in another match happening on July 25th. Leagues Cup released the schedule for the tournament’s knockout rounds too. The Round of 32 holds on August 2-4, The Round of 16 on August 6-8, the quarterfinals on August 11-12, and the semifinals on August 15. The final and third match on August 19. Fans can watch the All Leagues Cup matches on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Chosen matches feature linear television broadcasts. Kickoff times and other broadcast information will be announced at a later date. Tickets  Austin FC Season Ticket Memberships also include tickets to Austin FC’s Leagues Cup group stage matches vs. Mazatlán and Juárez. Season Ticket Members can access a ticket presale for the Mazatlán and Juárez match until they go on sale to the public, which was on March 10, 10 a.m. CT on Friday. Oak Collective Waitlist members can also access the ticket presale window for all the Group Stage Schedule matches happening at Q2 Stadium until 10. am. CT on Friday, March 10. What You Should Know About the Leagues Cup  Leagues Cup is a new tournament which is first-of-its-kind that features the 29 MLS and 18 Liga MX clubs. The two leagues pause their respective seasons to participate in the month-long event starting on Friday, July 21 and concluding on Saturday, August 19. The tournament will hold across the USA and Canada. The champion, second and third-place qualifiers will go to the Concacaf Champions League and earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup. The Inaugural edition of this new tournament features 15 groups – three (3) teams each. Teams in every group will play themselves once at the home venue of the group’s seeded MLS team. The top two (2) teams from each group move to the knockout rounds. Liga MX champions CF Pachuca and MLs champions Los Angeles FC get byes straight to the knockout rounds. With the League Cup’s unique format, matches cannot end in a draw. If at the end of 90 minutes a group stage match ends in a tied, the teams get one (1) point. The winner of the following penalty shootout gets an extra point.

Another MLS season has arrived and as usual, it is accompanied by changes. St. Louis City SC will make its debut. Players and managers made some off-season moves too. And a new campaign will not be complete if the league does not make any head-scratching moves for MLS 2023. These are the new developments as the MLS’ 28th season begins. St. Louis  MLS has not put forward the wrong foot in picking expansion markets. Each team has been met with considerable excitement and the national footprint looks robust now that 29 teams have accepted St. Louis City, the newest addition. When it comes to St. Louis, a bit of  “What took you so long?” enters the discussion. The City’s passion for soccer runs deep, with a booming grassroots soccer scene that has led many players to U.S. national teams dating back to the mid-20th century, with Becky Sauerbrunn and Tim Ream being two of the most recent. Guaranteed, it takes more than a passion for soccer to build an MLS team. Wealthy investors including a stadium are often needed to build up and run a team, and St. Louis had some near misses in terms of finding owners that will get it an MLS team. However, with an investor group headed by Carolyn Kindle, that has now been accomplished. And Citypark’s team’s 22,000-seater stadium is up and running from the get-go should help the organization start functioning. The inaugural season always comes with hiccups. Lutz Pfannenstiel the sporting director after featuring over 20 clubs in his playing career, put together a side void of big names, leaving that task to Bradley Carnell New York Red Bulls assistant (an former interim manager) to turn SLC into a cohesive unit. On that note, it feels right to have a top-flight team in the cradle of American soccer. View the official MLS 2023 Season Schedule. Old names, new places  The MLS off-season is when change-of-address forms are in demand, and so are moving companies, particularly with the League’s limited free agency form as part of the landscape. There are some players who wore different jerseys that will require some double-takes. Witnessing 2018 MLS MVP Josef Martinez in the Inter Miami CF colours will be hard to digest especially since he had a good spell at Atlanta United. The same sentiments will follow Aaron Long, who transferred from New York Red Bulls to LAFC.  Sean Johnson on his own part will try to change the fate of Toronto FC after leading New York City FC to an MLS Cup in 2021.  However, what could be described as the most surprising moves happened within the managerial ranks. Wilfred Nancy turned an impressive campaign with CF Montréal into a move to the Columbus Crew, breaking free from Joey Saputo’s overbearing ownership. Nancy was replaced with Hernan Losada, who was fired by D.C. Losada last season due to his obsessive methods regarding weight, amongst other things, he imposed on players.  Losada will have to make the best out of a bad situation for the MLS 2023 with CFM after its roster was basically stripped. On D.C. United, Ben Olsen had moved to Houston Dynamo as a way to bring back the team’s glory days of the mid-2000s, when they won consecutive MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007. Former FC Dallas manager Luchi Gonzalez joined the San Jose Earthquakes after spending the last few years in the U.S. men’s national team setup. And some brand new faces, too MLS mines the international transfer market for reinforcements, and with one or two exceptions, they did not keep too much in their pockets. However this could change if Lionel Messi goes ahead to sign with Inter Miami, but other than this, most of the newcomers are of a strategic variety. One team that did not make too many financial moves was the Portland Timbers, who spent a $10 million transfer fee on FC Midtjylland midfielder Evander. The Brazilian has been compared to MVP Hany Mukhtar of the Nashville SC. If he can live up to Mukhtar’s influence, it could boost the Timbers’ chances of getting back into the postseason. Other notable additions for the MLS 2023 season are D.C. United’s Mateusz Klich a former player for Leeds United, including ex-Racing Club midfielder Enzo Copetti, who will join Charlotte FC. Copetti will be assisted by Ashley Westwood former Aston Villa and Burnley midfielder. Belgian striker Dante Vanzeir will try to score goals for the New York Red Bulls, netting 29 times in 67 senior appearances in a bit more than two seasons for Union Saint-Gilloise. For the defensive side, Inter Miami brought former Shakhtar Donetsk centre-back Serhiy Kryvtsov to man that part of the field for the Herons. Finland international Leo Vaisanen will do the same for Austin FC, after Ruben Gabrielsen’s departure. Postseason format debacle  18 teams will now qualify for the revamped postseason which is an increase from last year’s 14 – and the rounds will be mainly single-elimination. The first set of games will be play-in games where the No. 8 and No.9 seeds square off. The next round will witness the other teams join in for a best-of-three series. Every game will have a winner. The format will go back to single elimination for the conference semifinals, conference final and MLS Cup. Although the league contends that this change has been talked about since 2021 and is not being influenced by its new broadcast rights deal with Apple, according to the Athletic’s report last fall that the decision was fuelled a part passion to have more postseason games available on Apple TV than last year’s 13. There will now be as low as 25 games and many as 33.  There is also the desire on the part of MLS owners to host at least one playoff game, to gather more revenue for the League. The solution provided by the MLS lacks consistency in terms of format from round to round, and with 18 teams qualifying for