Last updated on .From the section Football

David Beckham is part of a group financing the new Miami franchise team

Major League Soccer will approve the David Beckham-backed Miami franchise "in the coming months".

The announcement comes three years after the former England captain exercised an option in his LA Galaxy contract to own a franchise.

Having won a court battle external-link over the purchase of land for a 25,000-seater stadium, Beckham's group can proceed with becoming an MLS expansion team.

The league is planning to increase external-link the number of teams from 22 to 28.

It added Minnesota United and Atlanta United in 2017 with Los Angeles FC set to join city-rivals Galaxy in 2018.

There are also 12 groups competing for four more spots in the MLS. A decision on who two of the newcomers will be is expected in December.

The MLS told the BBC it has not set a date when it will include the new Miami team in the league.

MLS spokesperson Dan Courtemanche told BBC Sport: "We look forward to working with David, Todd Boehly [majority owner] and their partners to finalise their expansion plan.

"David and his partners have committed a significant amount of time and resources to put everything in place to bring Miami the elite-level soccer team and stadium it richly deserves.

"We expect to make an official announcement to launch a new Miami expansion club in the coming months."

The other partners involved in the as-yet-unnamed team include former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, Bolivian-American businessman Marcelo Claure and sports executive Tim Leiweke.