Miami is out of the running to join Major League Soccer after an ownership group announced Tuesday it was pulling its bid for an expansion franchise.

The Miami group made the decision in collaboration with MLS, according to the league.

"It was not feasible to launch a Major League Soccer team in South Florida in 2010 due to adverse market conditions," MLS said in a statement published on its website.

Miami's expansion application was put forth by the Spanish soccer club FC Barcelona and BrightStar Corp. chairman Marcelo Claure, a Miami resident who owns the Bolivian club Bolivar.

With Miami out of the picture, four cities remain in contention: Ottawa; Vancouver; Portland, Ore.; and St. Louis.

Of those four cities, two will be selected to join the league. MLS is expected to announce the winning candidates sometime this month.

Originally, seven cities were involved in the expansion competition, but ownership groups in Montreal and Atlanta pulled out.

Launched in 1996, the MLS has grown from a modest eight-team league to a 14-team operation.

Toronto FC, the first Canadian club in MLS, joined the league in 2007. MLS will expand to 16 clubs with the addition of a team in Seattle in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010.