Next MLS commissioner Berg targets quality improvement to build on World Cup excitement

Aug 4 : Major League Soccer's incoming commissioner Larry Berg said improving the quality of play and deepening the league's youth-development pipeline will be central to his agenda as it seeks to build on momentum from the 2026 World Cup.

Berg, the Los Angeles FC co-owner and private equity executive selected on Monday to succeed commissioner Don Garber, said the league's immediate priority must be converting heightened interest around the World Cup into lasting support, while ensuring the on-field product continues to improve.

"Quality on the field is obviously number one," he said. "The more we grow fandom, the more resources we have to improve the quality on the field, and the more the quality on the field grows, the more fandom we'll have."

Americans had their eyes opened to soccer's global roar during the World Cup, leading to huge television ratings and packed stadiums and fan festivals. MLS last week said ticket sales and television ratings have surged in the wake of the tournament.

Berg said he has a particular interest in making MLS academies and MLS Next Pro, the league's developmental competition, more productive pathways to first-team soccer.

He added MLS can differentiate itself from other North American sports leagues — and many overseas competitions — by giving teenagers regular playing time, while strengthening the U.S. and Canadian national-team player pools.

"I want to see our youth academies and our MLS Next Pro be that much more productive," Berg said. 

PRIVATE EQUITY CONCERNS

Berg, 60, has spent more than three decades in private equity, serving as a senior partner at Apollo Global Management until retiring from the firm in ​2022 and later joining investment firm 26North. 

He sought to reassure fans wary of