Throughout the years there has been many opinions on the MLS from numerous managers and broadcasters around the league. We will take a look at the MLS as a corporation and contemplate on individual Franchises that formed the basis of the league structure. No matter what your view is of the MLS it has been a quite successful in recent times and is continuing to grow each year with different Franchises wanting to join the league. The MLS was established in 1993 as the basis for the subsequent years world cup finals, this was a guarantee that was made to FIFA if the US were given the world cup finals. It was forecast that soccer would grow steadily as it has great competition from more traditional sports in the US market, but this league would present it with a firm foundation of where to begin. Every franchise started as a Franchise For Sale prospect across cities in America, extensive amounts of cash was provided by local sponsors and companies to get the Franchises started and to form a Home Based Franchise for each major city.

The 1st game got underway in 1996 and the MLS consisted of a mediocre ten Home Based Franchise that were purchased by local sponsors and companies as a Franchise For Sale prospect. The crowd for the games were somewhat adequate and the general forcast looked respectable. But, at the start, the sport never truly took off and the quality on the field was relatively weak, this joined with the clubs not being competitive with each other slowly put pay to crowd averages. A Home Based Franchise would struggle with the long distance travel and costs that the league managed at the beginning, so the Franchises endured over time.

After the 2002 world cup where the US squad go to the quarter-final point there was a a boost in the standing of the game. There was now a brand new head in charge of expanding the MLS into a major product for the Franchises and under this regime the league started to acquire top talent from around the world.

The footballing quality on the grass still remains below the standard located at a top European league but the amount of talent that is now in the MLS, whether it be for the contracts or lifestyle, is getting better. A Franchise For Sale in Toronto is now accessible and this increased the leagues fascination to Canada, where soccer is more known.

We now take a direct look at the New England Revolution team and how it has progressed in the past few years to become one of the most known Franchises in the US.

The New England Revolution takes its name from the north-eastern region of the United States, which is known as New England – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Preceding franchises from this region have employed the New England name as well, like the NFLs New England Patriots. The Revolution name is a testimonial to the American Revolution/War for Independence, which started in this area of the country. The club is widely referred to as “The Revs” by both supporters and the area press.

The club had little on-field success until the arrival of Liverpool FC legend Steve Nicol as head coach. Since he took control, the team has been to every Eastern Conference championship game, victorious four out of six.