"Soccer is the second most popular sport in the U.S. behind the NFL" (Dan Courtemanche, MLS)

"Down the line we need to better the quality of our players, we need more talented players to play in MLS. So youth development is top priority. All of our teams now have youth academies, they are investing millions of dollars in their academies and their facilities," said Major League Soccer (MLS) executive vice president Dan Courtemanche to News Tank on 10/03/2014.

The 2014 season of the MLS started on 08/03/2014 with 19 teams. Five more clubs will join the North American league by 2020, including Miami based franchise led by former England international David Beckham. "Recent studies show that among young people, that is to say people under the age of 30, professional soccer is the second most popular sport for spectators and how they consume the sport, but not as participants, behind the National Football League (NFL)," added the MLS executive, who has been in charge of the communication of the main professional football league in North America since 2005.

"We want to be among the top leagues by 2022, so that is in less than 10 years from now, alongside La Liga, the English…