MLS awards expansion team to Miami

David Beckham finally founded a club.

On Monday, Major League Soccer awarded an expansion team to Miami. The announcement was made at an event in the city's Adrienne Arsht Center, and featured the club's ownership group, who have an agreement in place to build a world-class soccer stadium.

According to the Miami Herald's Michelle Kaufman and Douglas Hanks, the team is scheduled to begin play in 2020, probably at a temporary site until the permanent stadium is ready in 2021. The team name, logo, and colours will be rolled out in the next few months, with hints that black and white will be part of the colour scheme.

The ownership group includes:

• David Beckham, former MLS player
• Marcelo Claure, chief executive officer of Sprint
• Jorge and Jose Mas, Miami-based leaders of Telemas, a telecommunications and construction giant
• Masayoshi Son, founder and chief executive officer of SoftBank
• Simon Fuller, entertainment entrepreneur and manager

"It is with tremendous pride that we welcome Miami to Major League Soccer," Don Garber, MLS commissioner, said. "With David Beckham, Marcelo Claure, Jorge and Jose Mas, Masayoshi Son, and Simon Fuller leading the way, we know the right people are in place and the time is right for Miami to become a great Major League Soccer city. This ownership is committed to bringing Miami the elite-level soccer team, stadium, and fan experience it richly deserves. We look forward to work(ing) with the entire organisation and successful launch for Miami's MLS club."

Beckham joined the LA Galaxy in 2007, securing a spot in his contract to own a club in MLS after his playing career. England's former captain exercised the option to own an expansion team in 2014, and the ownership group finalised the stadium plan in 2016.

"Our mission to bring an MLS club to Miami is now complete, and we are deeply satisfied, grateful, and excited," Beckham, the first former MLS footballer to own a team in the league, declared. "Our pledge to our fans in Miami and around the world is simple: your team will always strive to make you proud, our stadium will be a place that you cherish visiting, and our impact in the community and on South Florida's youth will run deep."

The team will play in a privately developed, 25,000-seat, state-of-the-art stadium in Miami's urban core. The arena will be designed by Populous, a global architecture firm that created MLS stadiums in Houston, Kansas City, and Colorado. There are also plans to build a privately developed training centre and academy focused on developing local footballers.