David Beckham and his dream of owning a team in MLS moved a step closer to reality with league commissioner Don Garber confident of announcing the expansion team in the coming weeks.
Former England, Manchester United and Real Madrid star Beckham met with MLS owners in Chicago, where a vote on Wednesday authorised Garber to move forward in finalising Miami's entrance to the league in 2020.
Miami-Dade County commissioners granted permission to ex-LA Galaxy captain Beckham and his ownership group - Miami Beckham United - to secure three acres of county-owned land for a new 25,000-seat soccer stadium in June.
Now Garber said he is close to confirming Miami's MLS status, possibly as soon as September.
"We're not announcing MLS Miami today," Garber said before the clash between the MLS All-Stars and Real Madrid. "But I am confident that we'll be able to do that sometime, perhaps by the end of the summer. We do have some things that we need to work through."
Garber added: "David and his [partner] Todd Boehy presented their plan and vision, including their thoughts about a stadium for an MLS expansion team in Miami.
"Their plan was very well received by our owners. It was the first time David had formally met with our owners and it was the first time our owners had an opportunity to meet with Todd.
"There was a vote that authorised me and along with a committee of owners to finalise the details with respect to that plan. We believe the time is right, finally, for Miami to become a great Major League Soccer city.
"The immediate next steps are for me and Mark Abbott to work with Todd, who will be the majority owner of the team along with David and their partners. We will work with them to finalise the details of their expansion plan in order for us to officially close on this Miami team.
"As we all know, Miami is one of the largest markets in North America. It's a community that is incredibly diverse and is passionate about the game.
"David has been spending a great deal of time over the past three years in particular, but really five to six years prior to that with his partner Simon Fuller to try and finalise this deal. They have committed an enormous amount of time and resources and everything really is in place for us to do what we need to do over the next couple of weeks, perhaps 30 days to move forward."
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