Charlotte in North Carolina has moved to "the front of the line" for the final Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion slot, according to commissioner Don Garber, reports, www.sportspromedia.com/.

Charlotte's bid is being led by David Tepper, the billionaire owner of the National Football League's (NFL) Carolina Panthers, who has been pushing to join the league since plans were announced in April to expand to 30 teams.

Speaking at MLS's annual state of the league address, Garber said that he expects to unveil the competition's 30th franchise in the coming months, adding that Las Vegas and Phoenix are also in contention.

"There are three markets we're looking at, that our expansion committee is engaged with: Charlotte, Las Vegas and Phoenix," Garber confirmed. "It's fair to say Charlotte has done a lot of work to move their bid to the front of the line. It starts with David Tepper, passionate about our sport and very passionate about Charlotte.

"There are a lot of things happening in Charlotte that are similar to things that are happening in Atlanta. I think the Carolinas are great states for soccer, you know that from a women's soccer perspective and a youth soccer perspective. Should we be able to move forward and end up with a team in Charlotte, I'm confident they would be successful."