Hi Reader,

A big day today in the World Cup with the USMNT in action against Australia in Seattle. At least one member of Mauricio Pochettino's team is a subscriber to this newsletter - so all the very best wishes to that special reader!

The World Cup has been underway for a full week now and it is fair to say that, as expected, the negative media coverage has quickly been replaced by images of huge crowds and some great viral content around host cities (and beyond) along with of course, most importantly, some great games on the field.

It has been a great tournament so far for the host nations with Canada earning their first victory ever at a World Cup (with a 6-0 crushing of Qatar) and they are well placed to make it into the knockout stage while Mexico's win over South Korea last night made them the first team to get into the last 32.

This week we focus on two main areas - the television ratings (so crucial for getting a feel for just how widespread the interest is in the tournament and the sport in our market) and in our podcast, the commercial backing for U.S. Soccer and the federation's strategy to get corporate America on board with the sport - there are lessons in that interview with Dave Wright, CCO of US Soccer which apply to clubs and soccer properties at all levels.

While the excitement continues, we will be sure to also keep our eye on our core interest - the soccer industry in this region. So if you have any news, suggestions for future stories or podcast guests, or are interested in discussing partnership opportunities, don't hesitate to get in touch with me at simon@thesoccerbusiness.com.

Cheers

Simon Evans

The Soccer Business.

There’s a stat buried in NBCUniversal’s opening-weekend press release that deserves far more attention than it’s getting: across the first twelve matches of the 2026 World Cup, Telemundo captured 53% of the total US World Cup television audience.

To be clear, Fox are having a great tournament. USA-Paraguay drew 18 million viewers across FOX, FOX One and Tubi, the most-watched men’s World Cup telecast in English-language US history. But that was also the one match where the home-nation effect made English-language dominance inevitable. Strip that game out, and the picture looks very different.

I went through every match where both networks have published numbers. Telemundo beat FOX or FS1 head-to-head in eight of thirteen comparable matches. FOX won five — and three of those wins came by margins of less than a million viewers. The other two were USA-Paraguay, where the gap was always going to be enormous, and Netherlands-Japan, a genuine FOX win with no obvious USMNT-style explanation. (Fox's 8.8 million rating for that game is an incredible number).

Frankly it is also remarkable that Qatar v Switzerland drew 5.4 million viewers on Fox - for comparison this year's PSG V Arsenal Champions League final attracted around 3 million in the same Saturday pm slot) but even a game like that with no Latin-American interest drew 5.5 million on Telemundo. Almost 11 million Americans in both languages watched Qatar v Switzerland - that is the World Cup effect right there.

Outside the USMNT’s own matches, the US Hispanic audience isn’t a market segment running alongside the main event. It frequently is the main event. Mexico’s opener against South Africa drew 13.4 million on Telemundo against just 7.2 million on FOX — nearly double. Brazil-Morocco, Ecuador’s match v Ivory Coast, even lower-tier fixtures like Sweden-Tunisia and Australia-Turkey, with no Latin involvement, all skewed Spanish.

In terms of growth on 2022 (played in the less favorable timezone in Qatar) a big rise was expected but here we also see a striking difference. Telemundo has a +234% jump in average viewership versus 2022, against FOX’s own (admirable) +152%. A +289% jump in streaming audience via Peacock.

For anyone in sponsorship, media rights, or broadcast strategy thinking about the next World Cup cycle, the lesson is that the US Hispanic audience is, on most nights so far, the larger and more committed of the two halves of the American World Cup audience — and any commercial strategy built on the assumption that English-language coverage is the “primary” broadcast is working from the wrong premise. And that lesson goes well beyond the World Cup - if you are building a soccer business and you aren't relevant to the Hispanic market, or if you view it is a nice 'add on' you are missing out on a massive slice of the soccer fandom in this country.

Soccerbiz bytes

Sweden’s opening FIFA World Cup match generated a 96% television market share, meaning virtually every television viewer in Sweden at the time was watching the match.

In the UK, ITV's peak audience of 15.4 million viewers was the highest recorded by any UK broadcast this year. Great number but it also means that more Americans watched the USMNT's opener than English people watched the Three Lions' debut.

A total of 281,223 fans attended game on Tuesday 16 June, surpassing previous record for a single day at the World Cup of 277,070 – established on 28 June 1994.

TSB Podcast: Dave Wright, CCO U.S. Soccer

Does the World Cup performance of the USMNT, good or bad, have an impact on likely future revenue for U.S. Soccer? I asked Dave Wright, the federation's CCO: "A number of years ago, I would have said it was paramount to our business, and that our business success was so critically tied to performance on the field. Now, fast forward, I would answer it slightly differently. Professional leagues on the men's and women's side that are thriving, MLS, NWSL, USL. There's a consistent heartbeat of the professional game that I think is critically important to the development of our sport.
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"I think if you zoom out and look at the sport from a macro perspective, it's in a completely different place... So the foundation I think has given us an ability to succeed somewhat irregardless of performance on the field, but I would very quickly follow that up by saying that obviously performance does support and does help."

Dave also has some insightful thoughts on how soccer properties should pitch to corporate America and he goes into the backstory of how, after taking their rights in-house, U.S. Soccer has been able to generate a record $1.3 billion in contracted revenue.

You can watch the podcast on You Tube. You can listen on Spotify. or on Apple Podcasts or find it on your favourite audio platform.

The best way to make sure you don't miss out on any episodes of the podcast is to subscribe and opt in to notifications on your preferred platform. It also helps us out a lot if you could spare a second to give us a nice rating and/or review.

This week's wrap-up of news in the North American soccer industry:

UW-GREEN BAY JOINS TALKS TO BRING USL FRANCHISE TO GREEN BAY The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has entered talks alongside the city as Green Bay pursues a USL men's and women's franchise, with the city having secured an exclusive negotiating window with the league late last year and USL officials visiting in recent weeks. Mayor Eric Genrich said the city has had promising conversations with USL and community members interested in forming an ownership group, while pointing to a 15-acre downtown riverfront site — the former Wisconsin Public Service headquarters — as a potential stadium location, alongside the possibility of an interim home at UW-Green Bay's Aldo Santaga Stadium, which could be expanded from its current 700-seat capacity to around 2,000.

The city's exclusive negotiating window with USL expires in September but can be extended for another year, and Genrich said he expects that to happen given the progress made so far. UW-Green Bay separately confirmed its involvement but said the talks are unrelated to its planned Phoenix Innovation Park development on a 64-acre parcel of campus land, which remains pending state approval. Source: FOX 11 News​

KANSAS CITY CONSIDERS $235M IN PUBLIC BONDS TO EXPAND CPKC STADIUM IN $1.4BN RIVERFRONT PROJECT Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has introduced an ordinance that could see the city provide $235 million in bonds and additional tax breaks to support the expansion of CPKC Stadium, home of the Kansas City Current, as part of a broader $1.4 billion riverfront development. The expansion would raise the stadium's seating capacity from 11,500 to 18,000, and also complete the construction of Current Landing, the mixed-use riverfront district adjacent to the ground. The ordinance has been referred to the city's Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee, which is due back in session on June 30.

The Kansas City Current has already invested over $350 million in the city through the stadium and Current Landing since construction began. Mayor Lucas framed the proposed public investment as proportionally modest compared with men's sports stadium deals in the region, and cited CPKC Stadium — which opened in 2024 — as a proof-of-concept for public investment in women's sports. TheCurrent's ownership group are still in negotiations with the city on final deal terms. Source: KCUR​

USL EXPANDS KITMAN LABS DEAL, MANDATES PERFORMANCE-MEDICINE PLATFORM LEAGUE-WIDE The United Soccer League has announced an expanded, league-wide partnership with Kitman Labs, the performance intelligence company, to deploy its Performance Medicine Solution across every club competing in the USL Championship. The multi-year agreement represents a significant investment by the USL in elite medical infrastructure, with all clubs now required to use iP:Intelligence Platform, Kitman Labs' enterprise-grade operating system designed to aggregate, unify, and activate medical and performance data at scale.

The expansion builds on an initial agreement struck last year covering the USL's top-tier Division I women's competition, commercially known as the Gainbridge Super League, where Kitman already serves as performance medicine partner. The USL said the league-wide rollout will enable consistent medical workflows, integrated staff collaboration, and high-quality datasets that create a foundation for league-wide injury surveillance.

WINNIPEG EDGES CLOSER TO NORTHERN SUPER LEAGUE EXPANSION BID AS CITY WEIGHS STADIUM GRANT Winnipeg's city council is set to consider a $600,000 grant to the Winnipeg Soccer Federation to upgrade the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex, including new artificial turf and lighting, as the city positions itself for a potential Northern Super League (NSL) expansion franchise. Mayor Scott Gillingham voiced support for the move, saying he wants to see a professional women's soccer team in the city. The NSL, Canada's first professional women's soccer league, completed its inaugural season with six clubs in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

RAYADOS OPENS 37TH US ACADEMY WITH NEW NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOLClub de Fútbol Monterrey (Rayados) has opened a new official youth academy in Asheboro, North Carolina, as part of the Liga MX club's continued expansion of its US footprint, bringing its total to 37 schools across nine American states.

HOME DEPOT ACTIVATES WORLD CUP SPONSORSHIP WITH BECKHAM PARTNERSHIP Home Depot is the Official Home Improvement Retail Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026 — a newly created category that marks the first time FIFA has brought a sponsor of this type into the tournament's commercial programme. The retailer has partnered with David Beckham as a brand ambassador, tying the World Cup campaign to a home improvement and backyard entertainment theme, and running a sweepstakes offering a $10,000 gift card and tickets to the World Cup Final in New York. A Nielsen report cited by Home Depot found that 73% of soccer fans find sponsors appealing and 61% are more likely to choose sponsor brands over competitors.

BAY COLLECTIVE COMPLETE SUNDERLAND PURCHASE ⁠Investment group Bay Collective has ⁠completed the acquisition of a ‌majority stake in Sunderland Women, the English WSL 2 club said on ​Thursday. The Bay Collective also ⁠operates the San ⁠Francisco-based Bay FC in the American ⁠top-flight ‌National Women's Soccer League. "Together, Bay Collective and ⁠Sunderland AFC Women will focus on ​strengthening ‌player development, enhancing the matchday ⁠experience ​for fans, and investing in critical infrastructure, including the Academy of ⁠Light," Sunderland said in ​a statement. Sunderland will retain a minority stake to ensure their identity ⁠remains with the team. (Reuters)

KANSAS CITY CURRENT AND BANK OF AMERICA RENEW MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP The Kansas City Current and Bank of America have announced a multi-year renewal of their partnership, with the bank continuing as an official club partner and the Current supporting BofA's global community platform, Sports with Us. The two parties have worked together since 2023 on initiatives including youth soccer clinics and equipment donation drives, and the renewal will see them jointly deliver “Soccer with Us” clinics — free, hands-on sessions aimed at underserved communities. Bank of America is also the Official Bank of FIFA World Cup 2026, sponsoring all 106 matches across North America.

CANADA SOCCER AND META LAUNCH PLAYER-LED CONTENT INITIATIVE AHEAD OF WORLD CUP Canada Soccer and Meta have launched a new digital content partnership that will deliver social-first, player point-of-view footage from the Canadian Men's National Team in the build-up to and during FIFA World Cup 2026. Players will capture content using Oakley Meta glasses, offering behind-the-scenes access to travel, training and team life, while Canada Soccer expands its Meta presence with a new WhatsApp Channel and enhanced Threads activity throughout the tournament.

GARETH BALE AND JUGGERNAUT CAPITAL LAUNCH $500M+ SPORTS INVESTMENT PLATFORM Washington-based middle-market private equity firm Juggernaut Capital Partners has announced the launch of Juggernaut Diversified Sports, a dedicated sports investment platform created in partnership with retired football star Gareth Bale. The new vehicle is targeting more than $500 million in funding, with an investment focus spanning teams and leagues, youth sports, women's sports, and golf and hospitality. The fund will stay intentionally under $1 billion to retain maneuverability, with founder John Shulman favouring control deals over minority stakes in already-expensive pro franchises.

The platform's geographic focus will be predominantly North America and Europe, along with markets. Shulman told Front Office Sports that a professional women's sports team purchase could close within 60 days, with Juggernaut building on its existing sports portfolio which includes youth operator 3STEP Sports and golf management firm KemperSports. Bale confirmed he has not ruled out a separate bid to buy Cardiff City, the Welsh club he previously attempted to acquire.