Major League Soccer Lays Out Timetable for New Commissioner Larry Berg

The co-managing owner of LAFC will replace Don Garber, who is stepping down as commissioner after 30 years.

LAFC co-owner Larry Berg will take over for Don Garber. | Shaun Clark/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

The Major League Soccer board of governors held a closed-door meeting at the league’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan on Monday, before voting LAFC co-managing owner Larry Berg to be Don Garber’s replacement and the third-ever MLS commissioner.

Berg, 60, will be officially introduced on Tuesday. Garber, 68, will step down at the end of the calendar year after nearly 30 years at the helm, with Berg set to assume the position beginning Jan. 1. Berg received the required two-thirds super majority to succeed Garber, beating out the other finalist, David Nathanson, a former Fox executive.

Berg will be tasked with ushering in the league’s new era, one defined by the glitz of legendary stars and the upcoming transition to the more traditional summer-to-spring calendar. He will also be tasked with ensuring the domestic league reaps the full benefits of a hugely-success World Cup experience across North America this summer. Toward that end, MLS has already instigated its largest-ever post-World Cup marketing campaign called “Thanks World, We’ll Take It From Here.”

“I'm honored to lead Major League Soccer into its next era,” Berg said in a league statement. “Thanks to the vision and commitment of so many people, Major League Soccer has achieved tremendous success, but I believe our greatest opportunities are still ahead.

“We have an extraordinary opportunity to strengthen the quality of our competition, develop more world-class players, deepen our connection with supporters, and continue elevating Major League Soccer's place in the global game. Together with our owners, clubs, players, partners, supporters, and league staff, I could not be more excited for what comes next.”

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Who Is Larry Berg?

Larry Berg has been with LAFC since the club’s inception. | Shaun Clark/Getty Images

Berg first joined expansion team LAFC in 2014 as a limited partner, before taking over as co-managing owner in 2016, two years before the club actually debuted. He has been with the Los Angeles side throughout its incredibly-successful run thus far, bringing home an MLS Cup in 2022, the U.S. Open Cup in 2024 and two Supporters’ Shields (2019, 2022). Berg will have to divest his ownership interest in LAFC, though, per MLS’s policies, to ensure he can lead the league impartially.

Berg is also currently the co-chair of MLS’s Sporting and Competition Committee, a group tasked with strategizing the growth of the league, its competitive strategies and the on-field product of play.

“Having worked closely with Larry over the past decade, I've seen firsthand the qualities that make him an exceptional leader, and I have complete confidence he is the right person to serve as Major League Soccer's next Commissioner,” Garber said in the statement. “His integrity, judgment, collaborative leadership, and unwavering commitment to building LAFC and the league have made him an invaluable partner. I look forward to working alongside Larry during this transition and supporting him as he leads MLS into its next chapter.”

Aside from his ownership stake in LAFC, Berg has also held ownership interest in Serie A’s AS Roma and Welsh club Swansea City AFC of the EFL Championship. He spent more than three decades as a private equity executive, formerly serving as a senior partner at Apollo Global Management and is now a senior partner at 26North.

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