How MLS tries to exploit the World Cup, even with the US absent

A crowd of soccer fans gathered at Avaya Stadium on 17 June – nothing unusual as it is the home of MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes. But it was 9am on a Sunday, and the Earthquakes nor any other MLS team were in action. A viewing party had been set up for Mexico v Germany, a match being played 6,000 miles and nine timezones from San Jose.

It’s a move that makes sense for MLS – which uses the World Cup to draw in new fans – after USA’s failure to qualify for Russia 2018.

“Clearly on those dates [in the past] when the US was playing in the World Cup, there was incredible interest,” Dan Courtemanche, MLS’s executive vice president for communications, told the Guardian.

Courtemanche acknowledges that it would have benefited MLS if the US had made this year’s tournament. But MLS is a bigger operation than it was even four years ago, with 23 teams instead of 19, and the league’s average attendance up by 7.6%.

And it is hardly as if no one from MLS is playing in the World Cup. Nineteen international players from the league are representing their countries in Russia, compared with 11 international players in 2014 – and just nine players in the previous four World Cups combined.

As MLS has become more international, its fans have become more savvy about global soccer, and there is no bigger event than the World Cup. Pubs and sports bars in New York, where Courtemanche lives and works, are just as packed as they were four years ago. Regardless of whether the US is in it, the World Cup is a valuable marketing tool for MLS.

“We’re a firm believer in using the World Cup to promote our league,” Courtemanche said.

The MLS took a “World Cup break” between 14 and 22 June, but a total of five MLS games will be televised on Fox after World Cup matches. The World Cup final will be played in Moscow on 15 July at noon Eastern Time, immediately after which Atlanta United will play a home match against the Seattle Sounders.

A day before the Mexico-Germany match, the France-Australia game was shown on the big screens at Avaya Stadium – even though kickoff for the match was at 3am local time. Entry and parking were free, coffee was served, and costumes were encouraged.

World Cup TV ratings – along with figures for most major sports – have dropped this year in the US’s absence but soccer has never been more popular in the States. According to a Gallup poll taken last year, soccer ranks behind football in popularity as a spectator sport among Americans between the ages of 18 and 34. The sport’s popularity tripled over the previous decade, the poll found.

Other than fans from Russia, the host country, supporters from the United States bought the most tickets to the World Cup. Mexico, whose roster has three MLS players, was fifth. Costa Rica and Panama each included six MLS players in their squads. And those players are not just making up the numbers either – Los Angeles FC’s Carlos Vela has been a crucial part of Mexico’s excellent start to the tournament.

Those figures are unsurprising. According to Courtemanche, MLS has players from 72 different countries, although, as he said, “Our fans have told us the name on the back of the jersey and where the player is from is not a priority, but the quality of the player is most important.”

So, although US failure to make the World Cup may be seen by many as a setback for soccer in the country, Courtemanche says, “We’re certainly bullish on the future.”