BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—The future of Major League Soccer was very much on display here last Thursday in a pair of announcements that, together, provided a glimpse of the growth and maturation the league hopes to achieve over the next five years.



We learned that MLS will continue to expand to 30 teams, moving into more markets across the country in a bid to strengthen its media value and capitalize on a strong appetite for the world’s game. The other announcement—that MLS will begin to comply with FIFA regulations on training compensation and solidarity payments—is an acknowledgment that in order to realize the growth they desire, MLS’s owners know they will need to adapt in some fundamental ways.



There are two underlying realities that link these announcements. The first is that even in a global market filled with potential players—Garber pointed out there are 30,000 registered professional soccer players around the world—the...