In the League’s 13th season, each of the 14 clubs will play 30 Regular Season games over 31 weeks, for a total of 210 matches from March 29 – Oct. 26. Each team will play each other twice (home and away), for 26 games. The remaining four games will be played against different intra-conference teams (two home and two away), with consideration given to rivalries.

First Kick, the opening weekend of Major League Soccer’s season, releases four months of anticipation on Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30. Fox Soccer Channel will broadcast two games on opening day, including a rematch of the past two MLS Cup championship games as the New England Revolution host the Houston Dynamo at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Also on opening night, both Fox Soccer Channel and high definition television pioneer HDNet will air Ruud Gullit’s debut as coach of David Beckham, Landon Donovan and the Los Angeles Galaxy when they face the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., at 9:30 p.m. ET. Along with its pre- and post-game shows, this edition of MLS Saturday on FSC will provide fans an unprecedented five-hour fix of their domestic league.

First Kick concludes Sunday, March 30 with Spanish-language television partner TeleFutura broadcasting a clash between two of last season’s top teams in the Western Conference: FC Dallas versus Chivas USA at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas at 3 p.m. ET.

MLS Primetime Thursday returns to ESPN2 with a scintillating doubleheader on Thursday, April 3. Cuauhtémoc Blanco and the Chicago Fire host the New England Revolution in a rematch of the 2007 MLS Eastern Conference Championship game at 8 p.m. ET. Then at 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2 will carry the rebirth of a rivalry when the Los Angeles Galaxy and the expansion San Jose Earthquakes meet at 10:30 p.m. ET from The Home Depot Center.

ESPN2 and TeleFutura will again share the honor of broadcasting Major League Soccer’s annual mid-summer showcase, the Pepsi MLS All-Star Game, live from BMO Field in Toronto, Canada on Thursday, July 24 at 7 p.m. ET (International opponent TBA).

The 2008 season will conclude on Sunday, Nov. 23 with MLS Cup 2008, live on ABC and TeleFutura from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., at 3:30 p.m. ET. The MLS Cup Playoffs broadcast schedule will be announced at a later date.

2008 National Broadcast & Schedule Highlights

• Four national broadcast partners scheduled to air 113 Regular Season matches.
• Every regular season game will be televised, either through national or regional broadcasts and MLSnet.com.
• ESPN2 is scheduled to air 27 MLS Primetime Thursday Regular Season contests, beginning with a doubleheader on April 3.
• ESPN2 will also broadcast three playoff games and the MLS All-Star game, all on Thursdays. With the exceptions of the MLS All-Star game and MLS Cup, all Primetime Thursday games are exclusive telecasts.
• All MLS Primetime Thursday games on ESPN2 will also be broadcast live on ESPN Deportes (save All-Star) and ESPN360.com.
• All games on ABC and ESPN2 will be offered in high definition.
• On June 29, ABC is scheduled to broadcast a unique soccer doubleheader: Los Angeles Galaxy at D.C. United at Noon ET, followed by the UEFA European Football Championship 2008 title match. ABC will also broadcast MLS Cup 2008 on Nov. 23 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
• Fox Soccer Channel is scheduled to broadcast its complete slate of 32 Regular Season games with 30-minute pre- and postgame shows for a standard three-hour programming window called “MLS Saturday on FSC.” The same format will be utilized during Fox Soccer Channel’s three playoff match telecasts, also on Saturdays.
• Most Fox Soccer Channel MLS games are also scheduled to air live in Spanish in two-hour programming windows on sister network Fox Sports en Español – the largest Spanish-language all-sports network in the United States – with several airing on a tape-delayed basis.
• HDNet is scheduled to air 29 games of its 30-game broadcast schedule on Saturday, and one game on Friday (July 4).
• TeleFutura is scheduled to broadcast 24 Regular Season games live on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET. TeleFutura’s MLS game will be book-ended with Mexican First Division games, Univision’s successful and popular sports programming.
• The four teams with the best regular season records in 2007 will represent the League in the second edition of SuperLiga, to be played later this summer. The teams are D.C. United, Chivas USA, Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution. The complete SuperLiga schedule and the Mexican club representatives will be announced in the coming weeks.
• The MLS Direct Kick television package will return in 2008. The schedule will be announced at a later date.

For the complete 2008 Major League Soccer Regular Season schedule and individual team schedules log onto www.MLSnet.com.

Beckham said in a statement:

This week, Real Madrid asked me to make a decision regarding my future and the offer to extend my contract by a further two seasons. After discussing several options with my family and advisers to either stay here at Madrid or join other major British and European clubs, I have decided to join the Los Angeles Galaxy and play in the MLS from August this year. I would like to thank the supporters and people of Madrid who have made my family and I feel so welcome in my time here, making this an extremely difficult decision to make. I have enjoyed my time in Spain enormously and I am extremely grateful to the club for giving me the opportunity to play for such a great team and their amazing fans. I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the worlds most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own. For the rest of this season I will continue to give 100% to my coach, team mates and fans as I believe Fabio Capello will bring this club and its supporters the success they truly deserve.

In terms of finances it is a mega deal and compares with the biggest in mainstream US sports American football and baseball. The MLS have recently changed their salary cap rules to allow sides to make marquee signings of top international stars. The Beckham deal will see the 31-year-old benefit directly from all his image rights and related sponsorship deals which in the past have had to be shared with his club.

The Real Madrid future of the worlds most famous footballer had been shrouded in doubt, especially after coach Fabio Capello this week dropped him from the squad – the first time it had happened to Beckham since he moved from Manchester United in July 2003. During those three and a half years, Beckham has seen six different coaches appointed while Real have failed to win a single trophy. Capellos arrival at the start of the season could have heralded a new era for Beckham, who was dropped from new England boss Steve McClarens squad in August, but instead he found himself often sidelined. Real had been very keen to keep the midfielder – his marketing power remains a huge draw to fans across the globe – but after talks today he announced he will be moving to Los Angeles.