MLS hasn't reached its goal of becoming a Top 10 league in the soccer world by 2015, but they still have plenty of reasons to celebrate. The most recent one came during the 2016 Sports Business Awards.

​MLS beat out five other leagues -- American Athletic Conference, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, National Basketball Association and PGA Tour -- for the award. MLS Commissioner Don Garber accepted it at the annual ceremony held in New York City.


The league as a whole wasn't the only MLS-related organization nominated in this ceremony: Portland Timbers (Team of the Year), Avaya Stadium (Facility of the Year) and Orlando City SC (Breakthrough of the Year) were also nominated but fell short in their respective categories.

The fact that MLS has grown can't be denied. Once known as a "retirement league" due to the fact that older players came to spent their final years playing in US soil, now there has been a lot of younger talent arriving to the competition, and more players are deciding to come to the States even in their prime years.


Sebastian Giovinco and Giovani dos Santos are the best examples for that. While the Mexican has been one of the league's top players over the past month, Giovinco won the MVP Award in 2015 in a record-breaking campaign that saw him score 22 goals to go along with 16 assists in his debut year.

​​MLS might never be able to compete with Europe in terms of talent or even salaries due to the presence of a salary cap structure, but this recent recognition at the 2016 Sports Business Awards does nothing but certify that the league is clearly on the right track.