Nielsen numbers suggest there was a WC 'bump' after all?

On last week's pod, myself and Andrew Hosmar, basically agreed that the impact of the World Cup on MLS and the soccer ecosytem in general was likely to be seen more in the medium-to-long term but some fresh numbers out from Nielsen suggest there has been a short-term 'bump' too.

Nielsen’s own Fan Insights data show that the number of people identifying as soccer fans in the U.S. jumped from 66.8 million in July 2025 to 75.2 million in July 2026. Overall, over the past 5 years, soccer fandom has grown 27% from '22 to '26, representing 16 million fans.

The FIFA WORLD CUP 2026’s record television audiences have carried over to U.S. soccer viewership of the world’s top leagues, particularly among younger fans.

• Since MLS resumed play following the FIFA World Cup 26 break, regular-season audiences on FOX and FS1 were up 55% among Men 18–34 and 29% among Adults 18–34 compared to pre-World Cup regular-season matches.
• Premier League on NBC/USA Network is up +30% in Adults 18–34 (including Spanish broadcasts)
• LaLiga viewership across ESPN, ESPN2, ABC and ESPN Deportes is up +42% year-over-year across English-and-Spanish-language broadcasts, including a +60% increase among Persons 18-34.
• Nielsen’s Fan Insights data also indicates a surge in MLS fandom over the past 5 years, with +28% growth from '22 to '26, representing +11.7 million fans.

"The FIFA World Cup 2026 has served as a powerful catalyst for soccer's explosive growth across North America," said Seth Ladetsky, Global Head of Sports, Nielsen. "Our data shows that fandom is not only reaching record highs, but it is also expanding rapidly among younger, diverse audiences and carrying over into major domestic and international leagues."

Perhaps the most important figure is highlighted below. Any 'bump' is adding to sustained, long term, growth in interest in the sport as a whole:

What will a college soccer switch mean for lower leagues?

The recent vote of the NCAA's panel to affirm the proposal to switch the D1 college season to a full-year schedule causes some real issues for ULS2 and the lower leagues, that has depended on the cheap/free talent from D1 schools to fill their rosters for their summer league.

The question is, when this system comes into place, will those leagues settle for operating with D2 college players (still on a fall only schedule) or will there be some more radical thinking about how the fourth tier of soccer operates?

With USL creating a new top tier (USL Premier) with USL Championship and USL League One below, there is the opportunity to rethink the bottom of that structure.

Kartik Krishnaiyer at Beyond the 90, who thinks about these issues a lot, had this to say: "This could accelerate the push for USL2 and NPSL to expand their calendars, recruit adult non-collegiate players, and evolve into true, year-round regional semi-pro leagues. It also filters into the idea from The League for Clubs to have a six or seven months “D 3.5” Pro-Am league."

Or it could, perhaps, lead some clubs, with stronger support bases, to bite the bullet and seek to go up a level and become pro or semi-pro teams operating at the League One level. But operating a club for a full-season, as opposed to a 10-week summer window, is a very different proposition. One to keep an eye on.

Do we need yet another soccer competition in the U.S ?

My instinctive answer to that question would be no, I think we have plenty of competitions already, the challenge is to make them more relevant and popular. But the announcement by U.S Soccer this week that is launching a new women's knockout competition, the Crest Cup (or the Arthur M. Blank Crest Cup to be fully accurate) is a welcome one.

Why? Because it essentially gives the women's game, a version of the U.S. Open Cup, albeit one initially smaller in scale and limited to professional clubs from the NWSL and the USL Super League. Having separate cup competitions for USL and NWSL doesn't really provide the prestige of being a national cup champion and given both league's have D1 status, the new competition can stake claim to producing a true national champion. Plus, anything that gets 'rival' leagues cooperating and competing on the field, rather than in battles over territories and markets, is a good thing IMO.

My understanding is that US Soccer would be open to the future D2 WPSL Pro clubs also joining in this competition, which would add another layer of interest with the chance of some 'giant killing' upsets. So yeah, a good idea and one that if it is marketed right, should engage the women's soccer fan-base.

Talking of the women's game...this week's podcast is a discussion about how Bay FC have approached the task of creating a club from scratch. Lisa Goodwin Scharff, the club's Chief External Affairs Officer, joined myself and new co-presenter Karisa Maxwell McKee to explain what it takes to run an NWSL franchise that is only three years old and still shifting out of start-up mode. Click on the image below for Spotify, You Tube and Apple Podcasts links.

The report (pdf here) out this week from the Independent Football Regulator in England, shining a light on the lack of profits and the fragile state of some clubs, touched upon many of the same areas as our recent discussion with football finance expert Kieran Maguire. That episode went out audio only and as our audience on You Tube has since grown significantly since then, I've just put that up in video form too. Link is here.​

GARBER SAYS MLS IS NOT INVESTIGATING NYCFC OWNERS AFTER MAN CITY RULING. The MLS commissioner said the league has no plans to probe NYCFC's ownership following the ruling against Manchester City. He praised City Football Group's investment in the club and its new stadium next to Citi Field. NY Post​

NETFLIX HIRES ELI VELÁZQUEZ AS DIRECTOR OF LIVE SPORTS FOR LATAM AND U.S. HISPANIC MARKETS. The streamer has made the appointment, with Velázquez bringing prior work on the Telemundo–U.S. Soccer rights relationship. TodoTVNews​

D.C. COUNCIL'S $620M AUDI FIELD ROOF AND EXPANSION PLAN FACES A TOUGH SELL. The proposal would put a roof on the 8-year-old stadium and add 8,000 seats, taking capacity to about 28,000, funded by roughly $300 million in public money alongside a reported $320 million-plus from D.C. United. It would also fund 467 housing units and be backed by new 4.25% stadium sales-tax surcharges. United says a roof is essential as MLS moves to a summer-to-spring calendar, and it projects 64 additional events a year, while the club has already signed an early labor agreement with local construction unions. The ask lands with the District already committed to $1.1 billion for a new Commanders stadium, $515 million for Capital One Arena and $350 million for Nationals Park, and amid a weakening local economy, so the question is whether public money should retrofit an eight-year-old venue. Sports Business Journal​

SAN DIEGO WAVE PROPOSE DEVELOPMENT WITH NEW STADIUM AT DEL MAR FAIRGROUNDS. The NWSL club's plan comes as its attendance has fallen to 13,427, and as MLS's San Diego FC holds Saturday-night priority at the current venue. San Diego Union-Tribune​

CLEARWATER SPORTS CAMPUS PLANS $300M EXPANSION. The Florida campus is looking to add soccer facilities as part of the project. TBBW​

CONCACAF EXPANDS SHRINERS CHILDREN'S PARTNERSHIP ACROSS 2027 COMPETITIONS. The sponsorship widens to cover major men's and women's Concacaf events in 2027. Concacaf​

LALIGA NORTH AMERICA AND PANINI AMERICA EXTEND PARTNERSHIP. The multi-year extension covers gaming and grassroots activity, and Panini is also adding three NWSL card products. PR Newswire​

CHOBANI COMMITS $5M TO 500 YOUTH CLUBS WITH "FEED THE DREAM." The program is an activation of the brand's U.S. Soccer partnership. PR Newswire​

CARVANA AND RUSH SOCCER EXTEND MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP, LAUNCH $200K SCHOLARSHIP FUND. The front-of-kit deal is with the largest U.S. youth club, and the extension adds a youth soccer scholarship fund. Business Wire​

PANINI AMERICA LAUNCHES NEW NWSL TRADING CARD SETS. The release comes under a licensing deal with both the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association. Panini America Blog​

NURTURE WATER PARTNERS WITH ATLÉTICO OTTAWA. The hydration brand has signed a sponsorship with the Canadian Premier League club. YouTube​

TIMES SQUARE CUP MARKS FIFTH YEAR OF DORTMUND–STREET SOCCER USA PARTNERSHIP. Borussia Dortmund and Street Soccer USA staged the event in Times Square, the fifth year of their five-year partnership. BVB.de​

RELEVENT SIGNS UEFA NATIONAL-TEAMS COMMERCIAL RIGHTS DEAL FOR 2028–2036. The U.S. firm wins the rights for a European property, and ESPN's report notes Relevent's 2019 antitrust suit against U.S. Soccer and FIFA. ESPN​

SOCIOMX AND ESTRELLATV PARTNER TO EXPAND U.S. STREAMING OF "EN LA CANCHA." The deal widens distribution of the Spanish-language soccer show in the U.S. Times of San Diego (PR)​

CINEVERSE LAUNCHES DFB GERMAN SOCCER FAST CHANNEL IN THE U.S. The free ad-supported channel debuts on LG Channels. It is a weak North American fit, since the property is German. Media Play News​

Look out for the Global Brief second edition on Tuesday. You can manage your subscriptions here.​