A day after the regular season ended, Major League Soccer officially shuttered Chivas USA with promises that a new Los Angeles team will begin play in 2017. Chivas USA's records will not follow this new team, which will be treated as an expansion franchise and is expected to join the league alongside Atlanta. For the next two seasons, MLS will play with 20 teams.
MLS pulls plug on Chivas USA, new Los Angeles franchise will launch in 2017
Stephen Dunn
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“As part of our new strategy for Southern California -- a major hotbed of soccer participation and fan support -- we believe that engaging with a new ownership group which has the resources and local community ties, and a plan for a dedicated soccer-specific stadium, provides us with the best chance for success,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.
The addition of Orlando City SC and New York City FC in 2015 will force MLS to realign as well. The Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City -- historically two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference -- will move to the Western Conference, giving each 10 teams. MLS will retain its 34-game schedule, with teams playing the 10 teams in the other conference once apiece (five home and five away) and playing the remaining 24 matches against conference opponents. Teams will play six teams three times and the other three twice.
Chivas USA's current under-contract players will be disbanded via a dispersal draft. That will need to happen relatively soon, as the Expansion Draft is scheduled for Dec. 9. Chivas USA's 15-goal scorer Erick Torres is unlikely to be included in the dispersal draft, according to an ESPN report. MLS has an option to make Torres' loan permanent and if that is exercised, the league would find another way to allocate him.
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