For what’s believed to be the first time in the history of Major League Soccer, players born outside of the U.S. and Canada now outnumber their domestic counterparts. A little more than 50 percent of players currently signed to MLS contracts—341 of 676, to be exact—were born abroad. That’s up from 49.4 percent in 2018 and an increase of more than 12 percentage points from 2014, when just 38.3 percent of MLS players were born outside of the U.S. and Canada.



The increased international presence is primarily felt on the field, but it’s also changing the dynamic in the the MLS Players Association, as the group increases its efforts to engage with foreign-born players before it fully dives into collective bargaining negotiations with the league in the coming months.



“It’s necessary, it’s important,” said MLSPA executive board member and Minnesota United FC winger Ethan Finlay. “It’s a diverse league with a...