How the MLS plans to convert World Cup interest into lasting soccer fandom

Club soccer has risen in popularity among American viewers in recent years, helped by a trickle of European soccer stars like Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Son Heung-min joining the league during their sunset years — and the steadily growing appreciation for British and European soccer from afar.

Nearly three-fourths (72%) of surveyed Americans now say they’re interested in soccer, according to the Harris Poll in a report released last year, which estimated that interest in the sport has increased 17% since 2020.

That’s a far cry from the sport’s status in Britain (“It’s our religion. We do not apologize for it; we do not deny it”, ran one 1996 Sean Bean-starring ad for Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage), Mexico or Europe, of course. But this year’s World Cup is expected to grow the sport’s footprint in the U.S. and with it, the profile of U.S. domestic clubs.

With that in mind, MLS is kicking off its domestic season with a marketing campaign highlighting players like Heung-min, popular influencers like Celine Dept and figures more familiar to casual viewers like Magic Johnson (now the owner of Los Angeles team LA FC). Trailing the season-opening games this weekend, it’s been running on linear TV, CTV, TikTok, Meta and YouTube, alongside experiential activity in Los Angeles.

‘The biggest marketing program we’ve ever had’

The aim is to drum up interest in club soccer in the run-up to the World Cup — and then have viewers associate the excitement of the international tournament with the ongoing drama of their homegrown competition.

“We’re poised to take advantage of the growth potential of the World Cup being on home soil,” said ​​Radhika Duggal, CMO at the MLS. “In 2026 we have our biggest fan engagement and marketing program that we’ve ever had as a league. Our goal is to make sure that consumers can connect our players to World Cup quality.” 

Duggal, a former CMO at bank Chase, is determined that upper-funnel oriented campaigns like “Where the Drama Lives” can help the MLS grow its reputation among sports fans and eventually be considered on par with the English Premier League or German Bundesliga. “We’re really focused on building out true viewing occasions and marketing our product,” she said. Further activity is planned closer to the World Cup and beyond, with a particular focus on boosting participation of younger players in the sport via the MLS Go program.

Though Duggal declined to share financial details of the MLS’ campaign budget, the organization has put a significant war chest toward marketing itself this year. The league’s 30 clubs will also be running market-specific campaigns in coming months.

Each club is reportedly contributing $500,000 to $1 million to an overall “eight figure” marketing investment, per Sports Business Journal, while the Chicago Fire plans to spend an additional $2 million on a plan to capitalize on the extra attention.

“The strategy, which I think is a smart one, is to slipstream in behind all of the World Cup attention,” said Gartner analyst Chris Ross.

It’s a hope three decades in the making. Since the last World Cup in the United States, which was held in 1994, clubs brands and the MLS have worked to build soccer in the U.S. from a niche concern into a cultural force that could contend with baseball or basketball.

“The 1994 Cup planted an incredible seed to build infrastructure and fan communities here in the U.S. that the World Cup will now harvest those seeds,” said Jason Wagenheim, North America CEO of publisher Footballco.

For Footballco’s titles, MLS coverage provides a small but steadily increasing and engaged audience. This year, the company’s staffing up on its editorial, video and production teams to meet demand from readers and advertisers such as Modelo in the run-up to the tournament, and beyond. Though the games will be on television, the company aims to own the fan experience surrounding the tournament.

“I tell our partners that we can sell you anything, except LED billboards and spots on Fox or Telemundo,” said Wagenheim.

Its headquarters at the tournament will be the Brooklyn “House of Goal”, a site for watchalongs and fan events that’s expected to draw 200,000 visitors.

Between increased TV coverage of the sport, the accessibility of its culture on social media, and other cultural vehicles like Ted Lasso, soccer fandom has been rising in the U.S. “All of those things have made the sport really accessible and have helped catapult the growth here,” said Wagenheim. It’s paid off; the publisher’s U.S. revenue grew 154% between 2024 and 2025.

Back door to the World Cup

For advertisers eager to capitalize on the World Cup opportunity, but priced out of its expensive linear and CTV coverage, the MLS season is both an adjacent and accessible alternative.

But brands won’t necessarily be taking a direct route. Between soccer’s limited number of TV ad breaks, advertiser caution over Apple TV’s measurement offering, and the first-mover advantage granted to incumbent partner brands like Continental and Walmart, CTV inventory for brands interested in the MLS audience is limited.

“The partners of the MLS have mostly eaten up the inventory that exists there,” said Adam Schwartz, svp, director of sports media at Horizon Media.

As such, Luke Fowler, vp, business leadership at media agency Kelly Scott Madison, suggested brands are likely to use paid social channels to reach soccer audiences — and lean in to out-of-home, experiential, and event-marketing activity that can support regional or local objectives. 

Purina, for example, has a range of pet-themed tie-in activities planned around the MLS season and World Cup; the St. Louis-based company sponsors both U.S. Soccer and nearby Kansas City’s hosting of tournament games, and has a national creative campaign, shopper and retail activity and pop-up events pencilled in. Its strategy encompasses both national and regional work.

“Supporting KC2026 and U.S. Soccer together legitimize our presence in the sport, present a strategic evolution of our presence in American soccer, and complement each other well when we think about how we show up as a champion of pets and soccer for sports lovers in the U.S.,” said Andrea Faccio, chief growth officer and president of pet food brand Purina, which is also a long-time sponsor of St Louis City SC.

“If you really want to integrate in a key local market, MLS is a great way in,” said Fowler.