Garber: MLS eyes 28 teams, including Sacramento, St. Louis

MLS commissioner Don Garber said Sacramento and St. Louis are expansion "front-runners" as the league sets its sights on expanding to 28 teams.

Speaking with the Associated Press, Garber revealed the priority order for expansion teams, with St. Louis and Sacramento set for franchises 25 and 26 respectively. Afterward, Detroit, San Diego, San Antonio, Austin, and Cincinnati would be in consideration, in that order, for the remaining two franchises.

"We believe it's a 28-team league and not further than that," Garber said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. "It's hard to see where this all goes."

The league identified a target of 24 franchises by 2020, which will be met when David Beckham's Miami franchise finalizes its plans for entry into MLS. The league, currently at 20 teams, is also awaiting the entrances of Atlanta United, Minnesota FC, and Los Angeles FC.

Garber said Beckham's franchise is still on track, adding he's "confident and bullish" the English icon can secure a privately-funded stadium in Florida.

"It's gonna happen ... If it doesn't happen, it would surprise me that we weren't able to cross all the t's and dot all the i's," Garber said. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done to finalize their investment group ... So the issue we've been dealing with today is finalizing their equity. I think it's going to be finalized soon."