The Soccer Business
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The Business of North American Soccer Decoded
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Hi Reader,
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I'm writing this week's newsletter from the banks of Lake Como, Italy, where I have travelled to interview Mirwan Suwarso, President of Como 1907, who made their Champions League debut in some style with a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig on Thursday.
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Mirwan's insights into how he and his team have taken a team from the third tier Serie C to the top four of Serie A and a place in Europe's elite competition will feature in an upcoming special podcast, and while the context is Italian football, the commercial success of a club whose stadium capacity is 13,000 will resonate with many readers of this newsletter. Indeed, anyone with an interest in how a club can diversify its revenue stream will find value in the conversation.
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The podcast, shot on location, will be the first of a series of episodes looking at clubs and the different approaches being taken by ownerships and investors towards clubs. As a result of being on the road, this week's newsletter is a little more concise than usual — which you might actually find refreshing!
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Cheers,
Simon
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I will be at the World Football Summit in Madrid. Subscribers to The Soccer Business Newsletter will receive a 15% discount on tickets. Click below to activate your discount.
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Sharing in USL success?
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The major news out of the North American leagues this week comes from the United Soccer Leagues, who announced they will introduce a revenue-sharing system for their men's leagues.
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Along with the recent ratification of a new CBA, this is USL getting its ducks in a row ahead of the planned launch of the new USL Premier division in 2028, which will also see the introduction of promotion and relegation between the three tiers of USL.
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While some have excitedly described this move as ground-breaking and even a ‘game changer,’ there are a lot of questions remaining.
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The aim is to share national revenue generated by the league, with greater rewards for those who have worked their way to the top end of the USL pyramid. It relies, of course, on USL generating increased revenue at the national level, and one of the main drivers of USL Premier is the desire to attract a lucrative media deal.
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The idea that the league would negotiate a national broadcast deal and not share the revenues with clubs clearly would never have washed, so in that sense this is mainly sensible housekeeping ahead of any rights deal.
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USL hopes there will be much more than TV money to share around, though. League-wide sponsorship, betting/data income, and — particularly important in the short term — expansion fees are also in the ‘national’ category.
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But there is little in the way of concrete details in the public domain as of now. We still don't know the percentage of revenue being distributed, or how it will be shared.
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Nor do we know if a system of parachute-style payments or transitional protection for relegated clubs will be introduced along with pro/rel.
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Add those questions alongside the remaining outstanding ones around the financial, stadium, ownership and operational criteria for promotion, and there are a lot of issues yet to be determined.
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But this is certainly a sign that as 2028 moves within sight, USL is putting plans in place to prepare for the launch of USL Premier. Ultimately it is the success or otherwise of that new division which will determine whether any of this is a game-changer.
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Garber's new role
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Don Garber will hand over the reins of MLS to new commissioner Larry Berg at the end of the year, and that move has inevitably raised the question of what role the veteran executive will take on in the game after his exit from the top job.
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This week U.S. Soccer announced that Garber will take on a ‘strategic advisory role’ focused on advocacy and fundraising. As part of this new position, Garber will serve as Chair of Soccer Forward, the legacy and social impact arm of U.S. Soccer.
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Predictably there has been some debate about this on social media, but it is hard to see what could possibly be negative about US Soccer making the most of Garber's extensive contacts, built up over three decades growing the most successful soccer league in American history.
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Indeed, it is surely a huge positive that at the age of 68, Garber still wants to contribute to the growth of the game and find ways to unlock even more of the potential that exists for the sport in the U.S.
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KANSAS CITY ADVANCES $185M PLAN TO EXPAND CPKC STADIUM — Kansas City's Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee has taken the next step toward expanding CPKC Stadium, home of the NWSL's Kansas City Current, despite scaling back the city's contribution from an initial $235m proposal to $185m in public funding.
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The expansion would grow capacity to 18,000 as the centerpiece of a roughly $1.4bn riverfront redevelopment led by Palmer Square Real Estate and the Current; Mayor Quinton Lucas called it one of the better public-private stadium structures in the country, noting it avoids the large bond authorizations typical of other major sports deals.
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Source: KCTV5
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ATHLETIC CLUB BOISE TO JOIN USL CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2027, EXPAND STADIUM — Athletic Club Boise will move up from USL League One to the USL Championship for 2027, becoming Idaho's first Division II professional soccer club after a record-setting inaugural campaign that included selling out every home match and setting the League One single-game attendance record (7,247 fans).
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As part of the promotion, Athletic Club Boise Stadium will add roughly 3,000 seats, joining an established Championship field that includes Louisville City FC, Sacramento Republic FC and Phoenix Rising FC.
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Sources: BoiseDev · Idaho Press
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GENIUS SPORTS AND TELEVISAUNIVISION LAUNCH ENHANCED LIGA MX BROADCASTS — TelevisaUnivision has partnered with Genius Sports to embed live data, visual graphics and in-game sponsorship inventory into its Liga MX broadcasts, starting with Toluca v Atlas on September 12.
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The deal layers Genius Sports' AI-powered Moments engine onto coverage of a league TelevisaUnivision says is already the most-watched soccer competition on its networks, unlocking fresh advertiser inventory targeting US Hispanic audiences.
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Source: SportCal
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FC CINCINNATI OWNERSHIP PURSUES RACING LOUISVILLE, EYES MOVE TO QUEEN CITY — FC Cincinnati's ownership group has engaged with Racing Louisville about a potential sale and relocation to Cincinnati, multiple sources told ESPN, as the NWSL club's Kentucky ownership group signals it may be out of road.
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Racing Louisville sits second-last in NWSL attendance with spending near the bottom of the league; Sportico and Forbes value the club at $127m-$140m, well under the $205m expansion fee Columbus just paid, with NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman calling relocation a ‘last resort.’
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Sources: ESPN · WCPO Cincinnati
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FIFA CONFIRMS INFANTINO WILL RUN FOR RE-ELECTION DESPITE PRIVATE-EQUITY BACKLASH — FIFA has confirmed Gianni Infantino will stand in next March's presidential election, reaffirming an April pledge despite continued fallout from his now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise plan to bring private investment into World Cup commercial rights.
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UEFA has been the leading voice against Infantino, accusing him of “criminal mismanagement” and pursuing document-disclosure requests in the US; England's FA has withdrawn support for his re-election, though Infantino retains backing from Saudi Arabia, CAF and CONMEBOL and remains the only declared candidate.
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Sources: Ahram Online / AFP · beIN Sports
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MESSI BUILDS SPANISH CLUB OWNERSHIP PORTFOLIO WITH ELDENSE PURCHASE — Lionel Messi has become majority shareholder of Eldense, a Spanish second-division club near Alicante, his second Spanish investment in five months after buying fifth-division UE Cornella this past April.
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Still an active player for Inter Miami, Messi appears to be building a genuine ownership portfolio in parallel with his final playing years; Eldense sits two points from safety and fired its manager just days before Messi's involvement became public, meaning the new ownership inherits a rebuilding job.
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Source: Forbes
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U.S. SOCCER LAUNCHES R90+ REFEREE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM — U.S. Soccer has launched R90+, a new 24-month development pathway designed to identify and support high-potential referees working toward the national level and beyond.
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The program launches in the South Region with roughly 60 referees in its first cohort before expanding into additional regions. “Our responsibility is to make sure geography does not determine who gets the opportunity to develop,” said U.S. Soccer SVP and Head of Refereeing Kari Seitz.
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Source: U.S. Soccer
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NSL WINNIPEG REVEALS STADIUM, TAPS CPL BUILDER SIXFIVE — Northern Super League expansion side NSL Winnipeg will play at a new modular stadium at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex, backed by an $8.5m joint investment from the NSL, the federal government, the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg.
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The build is being handled by SixFive Stadiums, owned by the same Vancouver-based group behind CPL sides Pacific FC and Vancouver FC, with capacity expanding from 2,000 to as many as 5,000 through new grandstands, a standing terrace and FIFA-grade turf.
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Source: Northern Tribune
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