MLS Deputy Commissioner Leaves Post For Arsenal Job

November 27, 2008 12:15 p.m. EST

London, England (AHN) - London, England (AHN) - Major League Soccer's deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis accepted a position with the English Premier League team, Arsenal, Wednesday.

Arsenal hired Gazidis as an operations officer, where he will have control over transfer and contract negotiations. He will be filling in for David Dein, who quit last year.

Gazidis has been with the MLS from its beginning, in 1994, two years before its official launch. He has worked in almost every facet of it, from player acquisition to contracts.

He has helped set up Soccer United Marketing, which promoted soccer on both national and international fronts.

One of his greatest aspirations while with MLS, was to make soccer more commonplace in the United States. While the MLS has crept up in popularity in recent years, it still hasn't broken into mainstream sports in the country.

In going to Arsenal, he will find himself thrown into one of the most competitive leagues in any sport, in a country where soccer is - by far - the largest and most commonplace sport.

Born in South Africa, he spent his childhood in England and attended Oxford University. He graduated in 1986 with a Master's Degree in law.