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MLS President: Miami Soccer Team Expected To Open 2018 Season

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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) -- The future MLS soccer franchise in Miami does not have a team name yet but may have been given a starting date.

MLS President Don Garber was confident that the Beckham group will finalize a stadium deal with the new team ready to go by 2018.

"If it doesn't happen, it would surprise us, if not shock us, that they weren't able to cross all the T's and dot the I's," Garber said.

The league, which started play in 1996, currently has 20 teams, with Atlanta due to join in 2017 and a second Los Angeles team the following the year. Minneapolis-St. Paul also has been awarded a team and could open in 2017.

Still, he added Miami and Los Angeles have "got to get busy fast" with stadium construction to meet deadlines.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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