Players who wish to make one of the 10 Major League Soccer teams will work hard to earn one of the 180 spots up for grabs.
They face a long winter in training camps in preparation for the inaugural season that kicks off April 6 in San Jose.
As many as 250 players are expected to attend the MLS combine Jan. 5-15 in Irvine, Calif. Players who impress MLS scouts at local tryout camps being held this fall will be shown off before MLS coaches and general managers at the combine.
In early February, MLS will hold its draft to allocate all those marquee players not previously assigned to a club. The draft will consist of 20-22 rounds, according to MLS’s director of operations Bill Sage. Clubs will have a local option to protect players developed in their communities.
MLS is expected to debut a baseball-style “Grapefruit League” in March. It hopes to find a Florida community with sufficient facilities to allow all 10 teams to train in proximity of each other. One city being examined is Boca Raton, located just north of Miami.
“We need to flush out the last one-third of the roster,” Sage says.
Although teams can only have 18 players on their active roster, some may sign as many as 20-21 players and farm out reserves to USISL teams next summer.
Training camp could last as long as 10 weeks. The April 6 opening game in San Jose — scheduled to be broadcast live on ESPN at 2:30 p.m. ET — will be the only game played on Week 1 of the regular season.
by Soccer America Managing Editor Paul Kennedy