David Beckham hopes for MLS announcement before January 1

Former England captain focused on Miami

MIAMI – Former England captain David Beckham hopes to have his Major League Soccer franchise announced before January 1, 2014.

Beckham is expected to place the team in Miami, and he has visited several times over the past few months.

"We haven't announced that it's definitely going to be Miami yet but obviously I've been seen in Miami quite a few times,' he said in an interview with Sky Sports. "We're getting the details right at the moment."

The Associated Press reported last month that Beckman picked Miami as the destination for his MLS franchise. The option of becoming a team owner was included in the MLS contract Beckham signed when joining the Galaxy in 2007.

LeBron James, who owns a stake in Liverpool, has had preliminary talks with Beckham about a team in Miami.

South Florida has had an MLS team in the past — the Miami Fusion played in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. from 1998 to 2001, before shutting down because of poor attendance.

There are currently 19 MLS teams, and Garber hopes to expand to 24 teams by the 2020 season. A 20th team is already in place to begin playing in 2015 after Premier League club Manchester City and its partner, the New York Yankees, paid an expansion fee of $100 million to launch New York City FC. Orlando is the 21st team, which will also begin play in 2015.