CONCACAF Champions League important for MLS – Garber

One goal for MLS is to have a North American club win the CONCACAF Champions League so the standing of the competition is heightened.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber believes that to develop the USA as a soccer nation, MLS clubs must perform well when the best clubs in the North & Central American and Caribbean regions meet in the CONCACAF Champions League.

"We need to win the Champions League,” Garber said at his State of the League address.

“Those opportunities to compete in a global competition are important to show how far we have developed as a soccer nation, and the opportunity to do it on the pro club side is with the world club championship.

“We've got to win that [CONCACAF] tournament. We've won it in the past as the Champions' Cup.

“We need to prove that we can be among the best teams in the region, and that means beating Mexico. It certainly means beating teams from smaller countries that don't have our resources.

Garber said although this was a target, it was important to take care of those clubs competing in the Champions League so they are not disadvantaged.

“What we've got to look at, clearly it is almost a disincentive for clubs when they finish in the top four [in MLS] and they play right now in so many different tournaments and competitions,” he added.

“We are trying to mix that up between Champions League, SuperLiga and the U.S. Open Cup. But if you are Houston, you are playing in a lot more games than Salt Lake is, and that's probably not fair.

“There are things we have to look at so we are not penalizing those clubs and be disadvantaged in the league tournament, but probably more importantly, what do we need to do to ensure that these teams make it a priority? Right now, not all of our clubs believe it is a priority."