As Major League Soccer enters its 24th season, there's a lot to be excited about.

And there's a story of progress that can be told as the ambitious league continues on its odyssey to become one of the world's best.

Jon Champion wants to tell that story.

After a three-decade run as one of the preeminent voices in English soccer, Champion will begin his first season as a full-time play-by-play commentator for ESPN on Sunday, when D.C. United — which features another veteran of the Premier League who's come stateside, Wayne Rooney — hosts the defending MLS Cup champions Atlanta United at Audi Field. In all, Champion — alongside color commentator Taylor Twellman, a former U.S. national team and New England Revolution player — will announce 28 regular-season MLS games for ESPN in 2019.

"You get to the stage where it’s fabulous and the Premier League has grown beyond expectations, but you’re telling the same story for a third or fourth time," Champion told USA TODAY Sports. "(MLS is) a new challenge, a new thought process, new players, new teams. This is an opportunity to tell a new story and that could be an exciting journey."

Champion has called Premier League games since England's top-flight clubs formed the circuit in 1992. From there, the Premier League rose to become the richest soccer league in the world.

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Major League Soccer has been on a slow build toward reaching those kind of heights since its inception in 1996. Lately, though, the league has picked up serious momentum. In 2017, Atlanta United joined the league, shattered attendance records and in just its second season won the MLS Cup. In 2018, LAFC joined the MLS and gave soccer-crazed Los Angeles a bona fide rival for the Galaxy, a franchise that had been the league's most successful through its first two decades. Over the winter, three 2018 MLS All-Stars — Tyler Adams, Miguel Almiron and Alphonso Davies — were sold to top-level clubs in Europe. And, that is the quantifiable sign of on-field progress for MLS. The league now appears to understand how it can fit and grow in the global club soccer ecosystem.

"The league is investing in young talent, and that talent is coveted in Europe. So that’s something we weren’t seeing before (in MLS)," said Champion, who has broadcast eight World Cups. "Soccer is so widely played in the U.S. Eventually that has to translate to the professional level. MLS clubs can build on that, and that helps them spend more on players, and there’s a virtuous circle.

"I think on occasion, those involved are too keen to beat themselves up that they are not yet in the top-five leagues. They have to look at what they got, and what it is is a very competitive and vibrant league that gets better every season."

Now, the league seems on the precipice of achieving a long-stated goal of being considered among the top 10 leagues in the world.

"The potential (for MLS) is limitless," Champion said. "The question is what is the time scale to recognize it? Their aim is to be among the top 10 leagues. I like to think they can do that in my time in the U.S.

"No longer is it seen as a retirement home. Now MLS clubs are able to sell top players to top European sides, and that’s encouraging for the growth of the sport."

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jim Reineking on Twitter @jimreineking.