Northern rivalries loom large in MLS

[sportsbot]

Within the last decade Major League Soccer has undergone rapid expansion, surviving a retraction in teams just six years after its inception to now enjoying a tremendous spurt in growth since 2007. There is an ever-growing hope for the North American league as the curtain raises on its 17th season today, with interest in football specifically taking an unprecedented grip on pockets found in the Pacific North-west and the United States’ Midwest region.

The instalment of three North-western based clubs in Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Vancouver Whitecaps has served as a reminder of the heights football has yet to reach in North America in terms of fandom. The trio not only form a unique close-set rivalry in a geographically expansive league, but last season emerged alongside Sporting Kansas City as a benchmark for footballing culture in both the United States and Canada. And as that fanfare is sure to flourish throughout 2012, the league has set its sights on developing rivalries anew, welcoming Montreal Impact into their Canadian ranks.

Impact became the second Canada-based club in as many years to join MLS, with Whitecaps taking to the pitch for the first time last year after Toronto FC laid marker for the concept back in 2007. “We’re very excited about being in Montreal,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said. “It is an opportunity for us to connect with a new culture.”

A blend of two cultures

Montreal, based in the largely French-Canadian settled Quebec province, presents a unique populous of combined North American and European culture and is proving to be positive new ground for MLS. Impact are set to begin their MLS tenure as the league’s 19th franchise against Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place today, and it is a match-up of fitting fashion as the two clubs share common history.

fifa.com