Major League Soccer is planning to make even bigger strides into the global soccer market within the next decade.
MLS vice-president Dan Couertemanche told BBC that the USA and Canada's top flight are determined to mix it with the big competitions from Europe by luring top quality players Stateside.
"One of our goals is to be one of the top leagues in the world by 2022," said Courtemanche.
"We also want to have world class stars - whether they are from the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America.
"If you want to be among those top leagues you need to be signing players in the prime of their career."
Former Premier League stars Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, Jermain Defoe, Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Robbie Keane while ex-Serie A ace Marco Di Vaio are among those from Europe who have recently made the jump to the ever-improving MLS.
