The Soccer Business

Welcome to The Soccer Business Newsletter - North America Brief and a special welcome to new subscribers. I was reminded this week of Don Garber's comment that the United States is becoming the 'ATM of world soccer'. FIFA announced yesterday that the tender process is now open in this market for the broadcast rights to the 2030 (and possibly 2034) World Cup with record revenues expected from whoever wins. FIFA also confirmed that the U.S will host the inaugural Women's Club World Cup in...

In Focus: How fan-zones can expand match-day. From Newcastle to St. Louis, clubs are turning the hours around a match into a commercial opportunity. The lessons reach well beyond the biggest stadiums. The traditional match-day experience has long been a simple one - fan arrives at stadium, watches match and then goes home. Well, perhaps not that straightforward for everyone. Some will meet up with friends before the game, perhaps for a beer or two, maybe for lunch. Others will head out after...

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...

Welcome to The Soccer Business Global Brief Welcome to the first edition of The Soccer Business Global Brief - our new Tuesday offering looking at innovation and new ideas in the soccer industry internationally. Every Tuesday, this short briefing will track where the global game is heading. That means new revenue streams, technology and fan engagement, plus media rights, sponsorship and merchandise. It will also cover emerging markets and under-developed leagues, where investors may see...

Did we just get a glimpse of a brighter future? The United States men's national team just completed a remarkable 'international window' - winning all four friendly games on the docket - Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada were all defeated by a very new-look roster featuring 13 debutants. After the disappointing way the World Cup campaign ended, it was a much needed morale boost for supporters of the USMNT and the American soccer ecosytem in general. I try to avoid too much 'on field' discussion...

Revenue diversification is taking center stage Now that I've had time to reflect on the many, many panels and conversations at both the World Football Summit in Madrid and Soccerex in Miami (which really benefitted from the switch to Inter Miami's Nu Stadium), there's one topic which really seems to be occupying minds in the soccer business - revenue diversification. The need to generate income from non-traditional sources, or to better exploit under-explored sources, crosses national...

USL sticking to 2028 target for pro/rel transformation There hasn’t been much news out of the United Soccer Leagues recently regarding their ambitious plans to launch promotion and relegation along with a new top tier USL Premier division, but my understanding is that clubs and the league as a whole remain very committed to the 2028 date. No firm decision has been taken yet on the exact format for how pro/rel will work but the indications are that a pro/rel playoff is likely to be part of the...

Hi Reader, Welcome to this week's newsletter and a special greeting to all our new subscribers. It was great to meet some of you in Madrid last week and I am looking forward to meeting more readers and podcast listeners at Soccerex in Miami next week. I'll be moderating a panel on the Bundesliga's North American strategy with representatives of top German clubs but will be on site at Nu Stadium for most of the event. If a colleague or friend forwarded you this newsletter - you can sign up...

The Soccer Business Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up to get it in your inbox. The Business of North American Soccer Decoded Welcome Hi Reader, 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. Mirwan's insights into how he and his team have taken a team from the third tier Serie C to the...