Don Garber
Commissioner of Major League Soccer
In office August 4, 1999 – Present
Preceded by	Doug Logan
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Don Garber (born October 9, 1957 in Johannesburg, Africa) is the commissioner of Major League Soccer, succeeding Doug Logan. Garber has spent his entire career in the sports industry, working in a variety of capacities in marketing, television and League administration. In 1999, he was named Commissioner of Major League Soccer after spending 16 years with the National Football League as head of NFL International. Before you can upload images you will need to register an account Only use this if you hold the copyright on the image. ... Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada. ... is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Doug Logan was the first commissioner of Major League Soccer, serving in that capacity from 1996 to 1999, when he was replaced by Don Garber. ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Commissioner is a designation that may be used for a variety of official positions, especially referring to a high-ranking public (administrative or police) official, or an analogous official in the private sector (e. ... Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada. ... Doug Logan was the first commissioner of Major League Soccer, serving in that capacity from 1996 to 1999, when he was replaced by Don Garber. ... NFL redirects here. ...

NFL International

Garber spent 16 years with the National Football League, finishing his tenure as the senior vice president/managing director of NFL International, where he oversaw all aspects of the NFL's business outside the United States, including the NFL Europe League. Garber began his career at NFL Properties in 1984 as a marketing manager and became the League's director of marketing in 1988. In 1992, he was appointed the NFL's senior vice president of business development and was responsible for a variety of television, special event and marketing activities. NFL Europa is an American football league which operates in Europe. ...

MLS Commissioner

Don Garber was appointed as the league's new commissioner on August 4, 1999^[1] becoming Major League Soccer's 2nd ever commissioner, succeeding Doug Logan. His first move as commissioner was to bring the league more in line with the international standard, eliminating the shootout and letting the referee keep the time on the field. Overtime and a fourth keeper sub were the only surviving non-standard rules, and both would go after the 2003 season. is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

After the 2001 season, Garber contracted two teams, the Miami Fusion and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, which helped lead to the financial stabilization of the league. Year founded 1997 - 2002 (defunct) League Major League Soccer Nickname Fusion Stadium Lockhart Stadium Coach Owner First Game Miami Fusion 0 - 2 D.C. United (Lockhart Stadium; March 15, 1998) Last Game Miami Fusion 0 - 1 San Jose Earthquakes (Lockhart Stadium; October 17, 2001) Largest Win D.C. United 2... Year founded 1995 - 2002 (defunct) League Major League Soccer Nickname Mutiny Stadium Raymond James Stadium Coach Owner First Game Tampa Bay Mutiny 3 - 2 New England Revolution (Tampa Stadium; April 13, 1996) Last Game Tampa Bay Mutiny 1 - 2 Columbus Crew (Raymond James Stadium; September 9, 2001) Largest Win 5...

Among his accomplishments is creating a consistent time slot for league games (MLS Soccer Saturday), and putting an emphasis on soccer-specific stadiums, especially if a team is not subsidized by a National Football League franchise, such as the New England Revolution (operated by the owners of the New England Patriots). He has also played a big role in the improving financial shape of the league, which lost $34 million the year before he arrived. The league now sells more than it buys in the transfer market; Garber admitted that one of his biggest mistakes was buying Luis Hernandez for $4 million. MLS Soccer Saturday is a weekly presentation of Major League Soccer games on ESPN from 1996 to the present. ... Columbus Crew Stadium opened in 1999 as the first of a growing number of American stadiums built for soccer Soccer-specific stadium (SSS) is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada. ... NFL redirects here. ... Year founded 1995 League Major League Soccer Nickname Revolution, Revs Stadium Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA Coach Steve Nicol, 2002— Owner Robert Kraft First Game Tampa Bay Mutiny 3–2 New England Revolution (Tampa Stadium; April 13, 1996) Largest Win New England Revolution 6–1 Colorado Rapids (Gillette Stadium; September 18... City Foxborough, Massachusetts Other nicknames The Pats Team colors Nautical Blue, New Century Silver, Red, and White Head Coach Bill Belichick Owner Robert Kraft General manager Bill Belichick Mascot Pat Patriot League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960–69) Eastern Division (1960–69) National Football League (1970–present) American Football... Luis Hernández (born December 22, 1968 in Poza, Mexico) is a Mexican soccer player, the all-time leading goalscorer for the Mexican national team. ...

He has been nicknamed "The Don" by his colleagues.

MLS Growth

Don Garber appears to be following a much longer-term growth strategy than all previous soccer league commissioners of the NASL & MLS have taken. He has emphasized slow, steady growth of the league over many decades rather than attempting to force its way into the headlines (Beckham deal included) like the NASL did. Before Garber came into the Commissioner's office, the league had only one team in its own stadium, the Columbus Crew, whose Crew Stadium was built by Lamar Hunt in 1999. Despite this, the league was bleeding money at an unsustainable rate (34 million dollars in 1998). Garber met with league owners Philip Anschutz, Lamar Hunt and Robert Kraft around the turn of the millennium to decide what future actions should be taken to insure the league's survival. Their decision was to build the sport following the model given by Lamar Hunt's Crew Stadium, and also added a few elements to what might appropriately be called the "Garber League Building Plan". One of the pillars of the strategy rested upon the creation of Soccer United Marketing, a commercial soccer company with rights to all commercial soccer properties in the United States. This company would then be owned by all the owners of Major League Soccer and even if their MLS teams didn't make them a profit yet, SUM might. Year founded 1994 League Major League Soccer Nickname The Crew, Americas Hardest Working Team Stadium Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, OH Coach Sigi Schmid Owner Clark Hunt First Game Columbus Crew 4–0 D.C. United (Ohio Stadium; April 13, 1996) Largest Win Columbus Crew 6–1 New England Revolution... Columbus Crew Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio. ... Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was a promoter of American football, soccer, tennis, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee of the first three sports halls of fame. ... Philip Frederick Anschutz (born 28 December 1939 in Russell, Kansas) is an American businessman. ... Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was a promoter of American football, soccer, tennis, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee of the first three sports halls of fame. ... Robert Kraft Robert K. Kraft, (born June 5, 1941 in Brookline, Massachusetts) is the owner of National Football Leagues New England Patriots and Major League Soccers New England Revolution, as well as the stadium where they play, Gillette Stadium. ... Soccer United Marketing is the marketing arm of Major League Soccer and is responsible for the US english and Spanish broadcasting rights for the World Cup. ...

In 2003 another portion of the plan began to be implemented. This was the building of soccer-specific stadiums for all the league's teams. In 2003, the "cathedral of American Soccer", the Home Depot Center, was built to house the LA Galaxy, and both senior national teams. It was the first of many soccer-specific stadiums in America, with four more built by the start of the 2007 MLS season. By the 2009 MLS season, two more soccer-specific stadiums will be in use, one of which is Red Bull Park, a 25,000 seat stadium for the New York Red Bulls. Columbus Crew Stadium opened in 1999 as the first of a growing number of American stadiums built for soccer Soccer-specific stadium (SSS) is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada. ... The Home Depot Center is a multiple-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. ... Year Founded 1995 League Major League Soccer Stadium Home Depot Center Coach Steve Sampson, 2004- All-Time Leaders* Games Cobi Jones, 223 Goals Cobi Jones, 59 Assists Mauricio Cienfuegos, 80 Points Cobi Jones, 194 Shutouts Kevin Hartman, 47 First Game Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 1 MetroStars (Rose Bowl; April 13... Red Bull Park is the proposed future home of Red Bull New York of Major League Soccer. ... Year Founded 1995 (as MetroStars) League Major League Soccer Stadium Giants Stadium Coach Mo Johnston, 2005- All-Time Leaders* Games Mike Petke, 134 Goals Giovanni Savarese, 41 Assists Tab Ramos, 36 Shutouts Tony Meola, 20 First Game Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 1 MetroStars (Rose Bowl; April 13, 1996) Largest Win...

In order to address the complaints over the quality of the league's play, Garber & the owners embarked on a multi-pronged strategy. The first step taken was the creation of the MLS Reserves Division in 2005 that would give additional playing time to players not starting or playing much for the first team. Along with this new Reserve division the MLS expanded its team rosters to 28 from 24. This would give the league's teams more flexibility and ability to compete over the season.

Youth Soccer

At the end of the 2006 MLS season, several more measures were introduced to improve the quality of play. The league mandated the creation of a youth development system, with U-14, U-15, U-16, U-18, U-20, and U-25 development squads [1]. Further, the league said that any player a team developed could be signed without giving them up to the MLS SuperDraft. A maximum of two per year are allowed to be signed after two years of development play for their respective MLS team. Further increasing the incentives of MLS owners to invest in the mandatory teams is the increased portion of the transfer fees some of these players may bring, which will help a club's finances. The MLS SuperDraft is an annual event in which the Major League Soccer teams select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the league. ...

Designated Player Rule

Another new competition initiative the MLS undertook at the conclusion of the 2006 season was the creation of the Designated Player Rule, or "Beckham Rule". It is nicknamed after David Beckham as his signing with the LA Galaxy was the first use of the rule by the league. He will be coming to the league in the summer of 2007 thanks to a record $250 million dollar, 5 year deal. This may be an acknowledgment by Garber and the league's owners that it needed a few more "marquee" players to boost interest and the long-term strength of the league in a quicker fashion. The Designated Player Rule, also known as the Beckham rule, is the name used for a rule change in the Major League Soccers salary cap regulations, implemented for the 2007 season. ... Year Founded 1995 League Major League Soccer Stadium Home Depot Center Coach Steve Sampson, 2004- All-Time Leaders* Games Cobi Jones, 223 Goals Cobi Jones, 59 Assists Mauricio Cienfuegos, 80 Points Cobi Jones, 194 Shutouts Kevin Hartman, 47 First Game Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 1 MetroStars (Rose Bowl; April 13...

SuperLiga

The latest competition initiative the league has taken under Garber is the creation of SuperLiga ^[2], a new North American Championship tournament with a 1 million dollar prize, the richest ever for North American soccer. In the initial tournament, 4 sides from the Mexican league and MLS each will compete on American soil for the ultimate prize. It is hoped that this increased international competition will help develop American players to higher calibers of play and lead to increased interest in both American and Mexican soccer clubs. The SuperLiga is a North American football (soccer) competition between teams from Mexicos Primera División and the United States and Canadas Major League Soccer, the top football divisions of each respective country. ...

Television Deals

Commercially Garber has also made huge strides over a long period of time. One of the most important of those commercial landmarks for the league was the first-ever TV rights deals that Major League soccer agreed to with ABC/ESPN, Univision, Fox Soccer Channel, and HDNet. Between them the league will take in approximately 20 million dollars of money each year and no longer be responsible for producing the games. This appears to be a key turning point for the league's financial state towards overall league profitability, which Garber has predicted by 2010. Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. ... Fox Soccer Channel is a United States digital cable network, owned by News Corporation, that specializes in soccer. ... HDNet is a general interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format, and available via cable and satellite television. ...

Sponsors

Furthering the league's financial well-being is the landmark decision to be the first large professional league to allow sponsor's names on the front of jerseys [2]. Real Salt Lake signed the first agreement with Xango, an energy drink company for an estimated 4-5 million dollars over 4 years [3]. With a floor of $500,000 dollars per year for a shirt sponsorship, and 200,000 of that going to the league as a flat fee, this is thought to be a sure-fire way to increase owner's incentives to invest in their team(s). XanGo, LLC, an international multi-level marketing company based in Lehi, Utah, was founded in 2002. ...

Soccer United Marketing has further increased incentives to be in league ownership, as it recently sold the US rights to the 2010 & 2014 World Cups for some 425 million dollars.

Recently though that ownership has been dramatically diversified. In 2001, there was just three owners in the 10 team league: Philip Anschutz's Anschutz Entertainment Group (6 teams), Lamar Hunts' Hunt Sports(3 teams), and Robert Kraft (owner of New England Patriots & Revolution). Since then the league has diversified to 11 owners of 14 teams under Garber's careful guidance. The Anschutz Entertainment Group is a sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. ... Robert Kraft Robert K. Kraft, (born June 5, 1941 in Brookline, Massachusetts) is the owner of National Football Leagues New England Patriots and Major League Soccers New England Revolution, as well as the stadium where they play, Gillette Stadium. ...

MLS W.O.R.K.S.

In 2007, Garber formed MLS W.O.R.K.S, the League's community outreach initiative, dedicated to addressing important social issues affecting young people throughout America.

Vision 2010

Commissioner Garber has stated he hopes to see 16 teams in 2010 playing in 10 soccer-specific stadia, and also believes the league will be generating an overall operating profit. While ambitious, it is not unrealistic, and appears to be somewhat on track. Even if this goal is not reached by then, Don Garber will be responsible for the league a great deal farther than where it started under his tenure. Time will tell if Garber's ultimate goal of making America a "Soccer Nation" will pan out however, as much of the criticism of the league under Garber is merited (see main MLS page attendance figures).

References

1. ^ MLS Introduces Don Garber as league's new Commissioner, August 4, 1999, <http://www.mlsnet.com/content/99/0804garber.html>
2. ^ World renowned soccer rivalry gives rise to SuperLiga. MLS (2007-1-13). Retrieved on 2007-1-13.

External links

• Don Garber bio from Major League Soccer's official site