MLS named LAFC co-owner Larry Berg as its next commissioner. Here's what to know

Los Angeles FC co-owner Larry Berg has been tapped to be the next commissioner of Major League Soccer. Richard Drew/AP hide caption

Major League Soccer owners voted this week to name Los Angeles F.C. co-owner Larry Berg as their next commissioner — the man they hope will lead the league into the future and nearer to long-held ambitions of prominence among American sports fans and global soccer leagues.

Berg will officially become the first new MLS commissioner in 27 years on Jan. 1, 2027, after a transition period with outgoing head Don Garber.

In his decades on the job, Garber oversaw the league's glow-up from a cash-poor 10-team afterthought to the full-sized, mature league it is today, complete with 23 soccer-specific stadiums and youth academies for every team.

"I've experienced this sport as a player, a fan and owner, and now with tremendous humility as commissioner," Berg said at an introductory press conference Tuesday. "Every one of those experiences has reinforced the same belief: The future of Major League Soccer has never been brighter."

The transition comes at a pivotal moment for MLS, which is hoping for a boost to attendance and ratings in the wake of this summer's FIFA World Cup in North America. Next year, the league will shift its long-time season calendar to a summer-to-spring schedule to align with Europe's professional leagues. Ahead lie other challenges that have game-changing potential for the league, including looming labor negotiations and the expiration of the current media rights deal with Apple TV in 2029.

Around 125 candidates were considered for the job before owners voted among finalists this week to select Berg. His professional background is in private equity, and LAFC, the team he's been with since its founding in 2014, which is widely regarded as one of the most capably run franchises in MLS.

Berg is known best in the soccer world for his co-ownership of Los Angeles FC, which debuted in 2018 and has quickly become one of the league's most successful franchises. Under Berg's co-ownership, the team has won an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup and has twice finished as the league's best regular-season team.