MLS as a Sports Product—The Prominence of the World's Game in the U.S.

The purpose of this Working Paper is to analyze how soccer at the professional level in the U.S., with Major League Soccer as a focal point, has developed over the span of a quarter of a century. It is worthwhile to examine the growth of Major League Soccer (MLS) from its first game in 1996 to where the league currently stands as a business as it moves past its 25th anniversary. The 1994 World Cup (held in the U.S.) and the subsequent implementation of MLS as a U.S. professional league exerted a major positive influence on soccer participation and fandom in the U.S. Consequently, more importance was placed on soccer in the country’s culture. The research reported here explores the league’s evolution and development through the cohesion existing between its sporting and business development, as well as its performance. In this way, the current paper elucidates the future of soccer in the larger context of U.S. sports, e.g., MLS in professional sports and soccer as a U.S. sport. In doing so, this Working Paper provides a perspective on soccer in the U.S. in the context of both the U.S. sports scene and international soccer (football). It goes on to describe the structure of MLS—addressing ownership, governance, player issues, sporting infrastructure, youth participation, and talent development. Next, it treats the MLS business model in the context of soccer’s ecosystem and thus includes a treatment of MLS financial operations, encompassing commercial cornerstones such as building and retaining fandom, television and digital content, corporate support and the competitive landscape. The paper concludes with a consideration of the future of MLS.