Larry Berg has been officially selected as the third commissioner in Major League Soccer history, taking over from the long-serving Don Garber.
MLS owners voted to appoint Berg, with the incoming commissioner receiving the required two-thirds majority of votes from club owners on Monday.
Garber, who has led the league since 1999 when he succeeded Doug Logan, will remain in his role through the end of the year before transitioning to league chairman.
Berg, a co-owner of Los Angeles FC, will formally assume the commissioner role on January 1 and will divest his ownership interest in LAFC upon doing so.
He was formally introduced at the league’s New York headquarters on Tuesday, one day after the historic vote confirmed him as Garber’s successor.
Berg has served as co-chair of the MLS Sporting and Competition Committee and brings deep institutional knowledge of the league to the role.
Columbus Crew owner Jimmy Haslam offered a strong endorsement of the appointment, highlighting Berg’s unique level of involvement among MLS club owners in recent years.
“First of all, he loves soccer, and I think next to his family, soccer is the most important thing in his life,” Haslam said, adding that Berg has been the most involved owner over the past five years.
During Garber’s 27-year tenure, MLS grew to 30 clubs, saw 26 new football stadiums built, and produced five clubs now valued at more than $1 billion according to Forbes.
Berg inherits a league riding the momentum of the recently concluded World Cup held in the United States, with significant commercial opportunities on the horizon.
His first season as commissioner will coincide with the 2027 shortened “sprint season,” a transitional campaign designed to accommodate the league’s calendar flip to an international schedule.
MLS is also targeting a major new media rights agreement after its current deal with Apple TV expires in 2029, making Berg’s early years in charge commercially critical.
The 60-year-old Berg holds an economics degree from the Wharton School and completed an MBA at Harvard Business School before spending more than three decades at Apollo Global Management.
He retired from the private equity firm in 2022 and later joined 26North, the investment company founded by Josh Harris.
“Over the last 30 years, we’ve done a lot of things right,” Berg said at his introductory press conference, pointing to stadiums, training facilities, academies, and MLS NEXT Pro as a strong foundation.
“If we can put on top of that some forward thinking and some other things that make us more exciting and more competitive, then I think we’ll be in great shape,” Berg added confidently.
