LAFC Stadium Gets Final Planning and Environmental Approval from City Council

Los Angeles Football Club announced Friday that the Los Angeles City Council has granted final planning and environmental approvals for a soccer-specific stadium.  Based in southern Los Angeles, the new stadium will hold 22,000 seats and will be ready for the club's inaugural season in 2018.    The new club that gained admission into the MLS in 2014 proposed this new stadium in May 2015, which LAFC Fan Club showed the renderings of: LAFC managing partner and owner Henry Nguyen spoke after the City Council's decision: LAFC’s promise is to unite the world’s city through the world’s game. Today, through the collaborative vision and efforts of the City Council and the people of Los Angeles, we continue to work towards that promise.  Everyone has invested a tremendous amount of time, hard work, thought and energy and we are now one step closer to making our shared vision a reality. The new stadium will be on the site of the Los Angeles Sports Arena, which will be demolished this summer. It is right near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the iconic stadium that is the home of USC football and now the Los Angeles Rams It's already been a busy year for the MLS' newest club as it unveiled a new co-owner along ...

Ultimate Guide to MLS Weekend: Colorado Rapids’ Hot Start Is No Fluke

Go ahead and take a look at the Western Conference standings in Major League Soccer. Now take one more glance at the table since you probably didn't believe what you saw the first time around. After being the laughing stock of the league in 2015, the Colorado Rapids lead the West and the Supporters' Shield standings with 17 points through nine weeks.  There's no guarantee Pablo Mastroeni's men will stay in first place as the traditional powers in the West get better over the coming months, but the Rapids have made a statement at the start of 2016 that they have improved despite plenty of skepticism.  The Rapids, who caught a good amount of criticism for acquiring Jermaine Jones in the offseason, are benefiting from the play of a few other new signings in midfield. Colorado brought in Micheal Azira by way of the waiver draft and Shkelzen Gashi on a transfer from FC Basel before the thought of inking Jones to a deal was a possibility.  The 28-year-old Azira, who played for the Seattle Sounders over the last two seasons, has brought some stability to the central part of midfield after Marcelo Sarvas left for D.C. United. Thanks to Azira's success in the holding ...

MLS Power Rankings: LA Galaxy Retains the Top Spot

It was a dramatic week in Major League Soccer as a few teams staked their claims with some emphatic results. These performances led to a significant bump up in the latest edition of the power rankings. As always, the following criteria were used to grade each team: Form over the last five games Injuries/absences Quality of a team's most recent performance Games in hand (if applicable) Here are the latest MLS power rankings.Begin Slideshow

MLS Player Rankings: Dos Santos, Zardes Surge Toward Top, Morris Debuts

With two full months of play in the books, we are beginning to see some trends develop in Major League Soccer.  It is apparent that a few struggling clubs from last season are postseason contenders in 2016, and some of the individual duds from 2015 are starting to blossom into must-watch stars. Giovani dos Santos fits that mold perfectly at the moment. After showing spurts of his world-class talent in his debut campaign, the highly touted Mexican is torching opposing defenses week after week.  Dos Santos and his LA Galaxy teammate Gyasi Zardes surged into the top five of our weekly MLS Player Rankings thanks to their incredible form, but they aren't the only ones who have caught our attention. Three attackers soared into the top 10 after not earning a spot on the list of the league's top 20 in-form players a week ago.  Our rankings take into account the last four games individuals participated in, with the most recent match holding the most importance.  Continue reading to see who else secured a position in our MLS Player Rankings following Week 9. Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Villa, Drogba, Valeri Shine in Week 9

Week 9 in Major League Soccer saw a wide array of players produce the week's best performances.  Didier Drogba and David Villa were among the superstars up to their regular tricks as both designated players scored on terrific strikes on Saturday. Portland's Diego Valeri joined the pair of world-class attackers in the Goal of the Week competition on Sunday in Portland's win over Toronto FC.  Some of the top defensive showings across the United States and Canada this week came from unlikely players. One even showed off his finishing skills in the attacking end of the pitch.  Since there were three games on Wednesday, we took those matches into account while choosing our Week 9 Team of the Week. Continue reading to see which 11 players were named to Bleacher Report's best XI from the week of action in MLS.Begin Slideshow