The North American Soccer League, which has had Major League Soccer encroach on several of its markets and even poach one of its teams, fired a shot of its own Wednesday by reaching an agreement to field a team in Miami in 2016.
The new club, Miami F.C., will begin league play next year. Its ownership group is led by the media entrepreneur Riccardo Silva and also includes the former Italian national team defender Paolo Maldini.
Its placement in Miami, however, could be seen as a direct challenge to M.L.S., which announced in February 2014 that it had awarded a team in the city to David Beckham.