How to Bet on Inter Miami

Miami had waited a long time for a team in the league. The Miami Fusion folded after 2001, and commissioner Don Garber confirmed a renewed appetite for an expansion side in November 2012. Beckham exercised the option written into his playing deal on 5 February 2014, and on 29 January 2018 the ownership group he led was awarded the franchise. The name Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, shortened to Inter Miami CF, was unveiled on 5 September 2018. The first MLS game came on 1 March 2020, a 1–0 defeat away to Los Angeles FC, and the first win was a 3–2 success over Orlando City on 23 August 2020. In May 2021 the club paid a $2 million fine for breaking roster rules, and the Mas brothers took majority ownership in 2021. Phil Neville was appointed head coach on 18 January 2021 and left in 2023. Then came the move that changed the club's profile: Messi signed a Designated Player contract on 15 July 2023, and on 22 December 2023 Luis Suárez arrived too. A first-round playoff exit to Atlanta United followed on 10 November 2024.

Despite the name on the badge, Inter Miami play in Fort Lauderdale, at Chase Stadium, which opened in 2020. When Lionel Messi's move was announced in June 2023, managing owner Jorge Mas said extra seating of between 3,000 and 3,200 would be created by building into the corner areas, to meet the expected demand. The naming rights partnership with JPMorgan Chase was announced on 20 February 2024, the day before the opening match of that regular season. A new home is on the way: work on the Miami Freedom Park site got under way that August 2023, and a March 2026 announcement gave the stadium there the name Nu Stadium. For now, a Miami club makes its home in Fort Lauderdale, which is worth remembering when judging travel and home comfort.

Orlando City are the natural opponent. They are the closest neighbours and the only other Florida club in MLS, and the matchup has an unusual background: Orlando entered the league in 2015 and had to sit through several seasons before an intrastate game was even possible, because that needed Inter Miami to arrive as an expansion franchise in 2020. That makes it a young rivalry, though the geography gives it real bite. There is also a city-level feud with Miami FC of the USL Championship, known as the Miami Clásico.