David Beckham receives MLS franchise boost

David Beckham has been handed a boost in his pursuit of a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami having identified a site for the team.

The former England skipper has struggled to find a suitable base for his prospective franchise, which he hopes to have up and running in time for the 2018 MLS season.

However, he has now settled on the former site of the Orange Bowl, which was demolished in 2008.

"We are as confident as we have ever been that we can move this forward," MLS chief Don Garber told BBC Sport.

"He has been trying very hard to get a stadium built. There has been a lot more progress lately than in the last 12 to 15 months. We have to finalise a whole bunch of deals with the city and the landowners but the site has been selected.

"David has been out of MLS for many years now but we still talk about him. He is a big part of our history. MLS wouldn't be what it is today if he hadn't decided to come in 2007."

Beckham played in the MLS with Los Angeles Galaxy for five years, being given the right to own a franchise in the league as part of his contract.