It's official: MLS to Miami. Is FC Cincinnati next?

Major League Soccer has all but confirmed that Miami will receive a franchise in America's top-rung soccer league.

In a Friday morning release that took the same form as an invite for locals to attend the December franchise announcement ceremony in Nashville, league officials will welcome on Monday Miami residents to the Knight Concert Hall at The Adrienne Arsht Center for a noon "MLS, David Beckham" announcement.

The event will be attended by team owner David Beckham and a long list of his well-known partners including entertainment mogul Simon Fuller, and MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

Univision’s Ramses Sandoval will emcee the event.

The Miami Herald was the first to report Miami would be confirmed as the next MLS franchise.

Miami's inclusion in MLS wouldn't mean much for Futbol Club Cincinnati, although anticipation for a franchise in Cincinnati continues to build.

An MLS spokesman didn't respond to The Enquirer's Thursday request for comment regarding the ongoing round of open-application expansion involving FC Cincinnati, Sacramento Republic FC and a finalist organization representing the Detroit market.

It's not much of a surprise that Miami will be confirmed for MLS. A mid-December league board of governors vote confirmed new members for Miami's ownership group. MLS then said a further announcement would occur prior to the start of the 2018 MLS season.

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Beckham's years-old expansion project, which goes by the working title of "Miami Beckham United," is separate from the round of open-application expansion FC Cincinnati is engaged in.

As part of a $250 million contract to play in MLS starting during the 2007 season, Beckham's contract stipulated he could later start a te

One thing a Miami announcement could do for FC Cincinnati is clear the decks at MLS to focus on expansion efforts in the Queen City (or Sacramento or Detroit) and get the team confirmed prior to the start of the 2018 MLS season.

FC Cincinnati is currently in preseason training. The sessions have been closed to the media.