It was recently announced that Don Garber and the Board of Governors will announce the next round of expansion into Major League Soccer within "45-60 days". This announcement comes off the back of the newest expansion team, Orlando City SC, opening their account in front of over 60,000 fans in a 1 - 1 draw against fellow expansion side New York City FC. Speaking of the New York side, they recently announced that they have sold more than 15,000 season tickets for their inaugural season.

MLS currently has 20 teams, with another pair coming in 2017, in the form of an unnamed Atlanta team lead by Arthur Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, alongside Los Angeles based LAFC (a working name, they say), owned by a large conglomerate of owners highlighted by Vincent Tan, the controversial owner of Welsh club Cardiff City, while the club will be managed by Henry Nguyen, a venture capitalist. The former group is set to play in the new Falcons stadium while the latter is still looking to find a suitable home.

The front runner for one of the two currently available slots has to be Sacramento Republic FC, the wildly successful USL team that recently partnered with the NFL's 49ers and the NBA's Kings. The club has made no secret behind their desire to join MLS sooner than later. The strengths of the team are rather obvious, with deep pocketed ownership that is local to the area as well as strong business partnerships. A large fan base at the USL level shows promise for future growth once that jump has been made. Perhaps the only downside to it all is the idea of yet another California based team when other parts of the country haven't been given teams yet. If the Republic joined, that'd make four teams in the state, alongside the reigning champion Los Angeles Galaxy, two-time winner San Jose Earthquakes and the afore-mentioned LAFC.

Another top contender for an expansion side is the San Antonio Scorpions, a current NASL club. Unlike any other candidate, the Scorpions have their own stadium built, needing only a minor expansion to increase capacity for MLS levels. The team enjoys a strong fan base as well as good corporate sponsorship. The weakness for this bid is the lack of a deep-pocketed owner. Gordon Hartman has enough money to meet the $20 million required by USL, but in order to be in MLS, the ownership group value must change that M to a B. If he can find a suitable partner, such as Peter Holt, owner of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, the Scorpions would be a top candidate for an expansion side.

Incredibly, there are two expansion bids in one market. Minnesota has bids from the NFL's Vikings as part of their new stadium bid as well as from NASL side Minnesota United. Both groups have their high and low points. For the Vikings, the idea of yet another expansion team playing in an NFL stadium has fans across the country wondering if the league, celebrating its 20th season, hasn't gone back in time. For the past ten years the league has insisted that its clubs have their own stadiums. Obviously the Vikings bid has plenty of money in its ownership as well as strong ties to the community and the backing of the businesses in the area. While the NFL stadium may not be palatable for fans, there is recent precedent with the Seattle Sounders, Atlanta, Vancouver Whitecaps and NYCFC all sharing stadiums, alongside flagship team New England Revolution.

Minnesota United is owned by William McGuire, former senior executive of United Health Group where he made his fortune. Ever since taking over the club in 2013, the club has exploded in popularity around the region. They have designs on a new soccer stadium to host the team should they get an expansion slot. They enjoy vibrant support from the local soccer fans and shows all the promise in the world to be a top side in the region. Many fans around the country prefer this bid as it more closely follows the recent trend set by the Pacific Northwest and Orlando.

Other potential sites could be Austin, St. Louis and Miami. All three are long shots to make it into this round of expansion, but shouldn't be counted out for future expansions. Austin is host to USL side Austin Aztex, which is looking to continue their rise up the soccer pyramid after recently joining the pro ranks from the PDL. Miami is backed by former soccer player David Beckham and Brazilian businessman Marcelo Claure. While the money is there, a downtown stadium has been hard to come by of late, which is a requirement for an expansion slot for them. St. Louis, still a hotbed for talent in the United States, has all the ingredients needed for a successful team sans a deep pocketed owner. If one were to step up to the plate, it's possible they'd be fast tracked to the front of the line.

So who will get the next two teams in MLS come May (ish)? Put money on Sacramento and Minnesota United. Until the Scorpions can find the money needed to make the jump, they'll have to wait. Fortunately they won't have to wait long as the next round of expansion will likely take place sometime around the turn of the decade. Plenty of time for Gordon Hartman to find partners to take his club to the next level.

In the meantime, can someone put an MLS academy in St. Louis? If we aren't going to have a team there soon, let's at least mine it for the top talent it produces so easily.