An annual study of the birthplace of its athletes has found that Major League Soccer is once again the most diverse major professional sports league in the United States.
MLS opened the 2011 season last week with players born in 57 different countries, including the United States and Canada. Roughly 38 percent of the players on MLS rosters are born outside of the US and Canada, compared to 26 percent for Major League Baseball and 25 percent for the NHL.
This year the league added players born in China (Vancouver’s Long Tan) and Israel (Chicago’s Orr Barouch), as well as players born in Chile, Belgium, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Norway, Tanzania and Uganda.
