There are two things that stood out at the All-Star break in MLS. LAFC is on the verge of setting a league record for points in a season. Austin FC, FC Cincinnati and the Chicago Fire are poised to make the playoffs for the first time, something they have never done before. Charlotte FC is in the running for a playoff spot after a chaotic start to the season. Europe’s big 5 league are dominated by one or several teams. The three teams with the most titles are Major League Soccer, the Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga. LAFC is scoring 2.22 points per game through 23 games, which puts it on course to finish with more than 75 points. It was the fourth time in five years that a different Supporters’ Shield winner set a new record for points. Success in one season didn’t translate into success in subsequent seasons. The Supporters’ Shield was won by Toronto FC, but they didn’t make it to the playoffs. LAFC missed the playoffs after winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2019. The New York Red Bulls haven’t won a match in three years. The 2021 regular-season champion Revs? They are one of four teams that are tied for seventh place in the Eastern Conference and 15 points off the lead held by Philadelphia. New England is not the only place. Kansas City, Atlanta United and New England are in this year’s bottom 10 compared to last year’s top 10. As many teams in last year’s bottom 10 are in this year’s top 10, as are the other teams in the bottom 10 in 2022. Spending limits, prioritized spending increases, U-22 Initiative and controls on player movement have been cornerstones of MLS since its launch. Many are player mechanisms used by other American pro sports leagues to control costs, restrict player movement into their leagues, and promote parity, even in the face of growing global player markets. MLS doesn’t want to adopt a promotion-relegation system. MLS has an emphasis on parity, which is something we are seeing again this year. MLS teams did not enjoy the support of fans over the course of their existence. Parity was used to ensure that fans, players and coaches believed their team had a chance. Austin FC went from 24th out of 27 teams to second in two years, just six points behind LAFC. FC Cincinnati had the worst record in MLS in each of its first three seasons, but it now sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, ahead of New England, Atlanta United and Toronto FC, all regular-season or playoff winners in the last five years. What Austin FC and FC Cincinnati have done right or what New England, Atlanta United and Toronto FC have done wrong, how much of these changes are due to them? It’s crazy to have the same team or the same two or three teams win the same amount of times every year. Each of the other four major American leagues has had at least one different champion in the last 10 years. The competitive structure of these leagues is not better. It is not the same. It’s not parity for everyone. In the extreme, it promotes mediocrity, something MLS must consider in face of the already difficult battle it faces from competition for fans who have access to follow teams in other leagues with better players and long histories. There were less restrictions on player movement.
