Major League Soccer is shutting down its annual SuperDraft spectacular, according to the Athletic. While the league will continue to hold an amateur draft, starting in 2020, the event will reportedly be toned down and executed “via conference call and streamed on the league website in a similar fashion to [MLS’] Matchday Central broadcasts.”
MLS has held a live SuperDraft — with selected players walking across a stage and shaking hands with the league’s commissioner — since its first season in 1996. The events have mirrored drafts for other North American professional sports leagues, particularly the National Football League and National Basketball Association.