MLS: after the World Cup, American league takes centre stage
For almost two months, MLS has faded into the background. No league action, no headline fixture. All the spotlight belonged to the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Tonight, the American league is back in business.
The timing is no accident. The World Cup final still has not even been played, yet MLS is already trying to grab a slice of that public buzz. For several days now, US TV networks have been running a campaign urging fans to keep the ride going… this time in MLS stadiums.
Messi is no longer the only name drawing eyes
Since Lionel Messi arrived at Inter Miami in 2023, MLS has enjoyed exposure it had never seen before. Now the bosses want more. This summer, Robert Lewandowski joined Chicago Fire and Antoine Griezmann signed for Orlando City. Two arrivals that give extra weight to a league long dismissed as a retirement destination.
This week’s campaign puts those names front and centre. Messi, Heung-Min Son and David Beckham all feature in a spot that ends with a blunt line: “Thanks World, We’ll Take It From Here”. The message is clear. The World Cup is ending, but football keeps rolling on in the United States.
What matters now is turning that curiosity into habit. That is the real test over the next few months for a league still trying to pack out more stadiums and lift its TV numbers.
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A league trying to shake off its old image
Since its launch in 1996, MLS has regularly carried the reputation of a league for stars on the way down. Lionel Messi’s arrival in 2023 changed its profile around the world in a major way, but the league’s chiefs believe the overall standard has also moved up.
The signings of players such as Robert Lewandowski and Antoine Griezmann are designed to back up that pitch. The league now hopes to turn that exposure into viewing figures, even though broadcast numbers remain modest in a market of more than 340 million people.
The season restarts tonight with four games on the slate, including Robert Lewandowski’s much-anticipated debut in Chicago Fire colours against second-placed Vancouver. For MLS, the real work starts now: turning World Cup hype into something that lasts.
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