Inter Miami could not overcome the tall task of making the MLS playoffs this year, despite the new signings of Lionel Messi and company starting with a bang – and a Leagues Cup trophy.
The commencement of the Messi in Miami era officially kicks off the three year campaign to expand the reach of and deepen the involvement in the game of soccer across the United States.
The efforts aren’t just on the field. FIFA recently announced that they will eventually be moving their legal operations from their headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland to a new location in Miami, Florida.
The approach is as simple as it is unabashed: convince the heads of FIFA that the US can successfully market the product of “soccer.” The first step in doing this is getting as many eyes on soccer happening in America as possible.
That doesn’t sound too unique, and in the current world of soccer it isn’t. Leagues around the world are trying their hardest to increase exposure, at least theoretically. However, the key factor that separates the US from the rest of the world is the lack of a widespread, harvested passion embedded into the culture of the country itself.
This divide in how soccer is affixed within the culture of these countries feeds the connotation of the US being inferior in the global scope of the game. Other countries care about it more, so they’re going to be better.
It’s hard to say when, or even if, passion for soccer can outgrow passion for other American sports across the country, much less reach that of other countries around the world. Considering this passion is what has driven countries around the world to prioritize soccer and lift their programs higher, it makes the US feel even further behind.
At this point, it seems US Soccer is fully aware of that fact, and it’s not really at the forefront of their worries.
Instead, US Soccer is leaning into an even stronger spirit that exists within the American population: consumerism.
The MLS continues to expand and hit major markets with no plans on establishing divisions or working with the USL in sight. The more teams there are the more games there can be, and the more money there is to be made.
A good amount of that money being made comes from broadcasting rights, another thing that MLS has taken a tight grip on in the name of commodification. The deal signed with Apple before this season gave the tech giants 10 years exclusive streaming rights for the MLS under Apple TV+’s MLS Season Pass, effectively eliminating local broadcasts and restricting public access to a few handpicked games each week.
The MLS Season Pass is meant to be a digital hub for the MLS, providing not just matches but also coverage and other content relating to the league and its teams. However, the severed ties with local media makes soccer more of a product for people to buy rather than a culture to be a part of.
This sentiment really showed with events like the Leagues Cup, where the MLS season was put on hold for a month to play even more games against Liga MX and other MLS teams. This summer’s format was the tournament’s third in as many iterations, serving as guinea pig for US Soccer to capitalize on the regional rivalry with Mexico outside of the national team context.
What made this summer’s tournament even better was the storybook ending it provided. The MLS had just landed the best player in the history of the game, and wanted to show off just how entertaining the league can be to all the new eyes he brings – so long as they are willing and able to pay for MLS Season Pass.
The massive shame in all of this is that there is a ton of soccer passion that could be tapped into across the country. There’s a somewhat surprisingly rich history of soccer in America, which has evolved into separate pieces of sporting infrastructure that, if combined, could achieve a heightened, widespread, organic passion.
Those in charge are turning their backs on cultivating passion by engaging with and building local communities, instead opting to increase a national brand that can collectively compete within the global market. While this may work in the short term for the financials, it doesn’t give much hope for the overall quality of American soccer moving forward.
