The sudden surge in popularity and sporadic growth of Major League Soccer (MLS) is without controversy one of the shocking accomplishments in the recent soccer arena. Having attracted a stadium attendance of 72, 312 fan base, MLS is the new big thing in European football league catching up with NFL and major league baseball.
While MLS is steadily growing with fan bases around the globe, North America and Canada are the predominant places with remarkable popularity. Experts and researchers baffled by the remarkable accomplishment of the league noted that their growth is due to the fact that the bulk of U.S. immigrants comes from soccer playing countries.
That is not far from the truth. But, the sudden growth in popularity and audience attendance can also be traced to the joining of football clubs such as Atlanta FC and Falcons FC in 2017 whoses estimated fan base have been said to be 52,000 per game. This in addition to investing tremendously in the development of the league at the grassroots level has contributed to the growth of the league.
On the other side, soccer is the biggest sport in the world with over four billion fans. An estimated four out of ten people according to Nielsen Global 2017 Survey Nielsen is said to be a soccer fan. What MLS did was a strategic restructuring to capture a huge segment of the global football fan base, particularly in North America and Canada.
MLS was launched in 1996 with only 10 teams. After eight (8) years of existence, the number of teams remained the same. However, growth began to emerge with the number of teams rising to 24 in 2004, later attracting highly talented and renowned football players such as Miguel Almiron (currently moved to the English Premier League with Newcastle United), Wayne Rooney of DC United and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at L.A. Galaxy.
The strategic move to become one of the global leagues in the world is characterized by actions such as growing fan base, stadium attendance, football clubs, investment partners and attraction of high profile soccer players. A recent report revealed that MLS currently makes an approximated amount of $90 million per year from their media partners, having a new six-year deal contract with Adidas worth $117 million.
With Atlanta United becoming the reigning champions lately, many football franchises are also looking to covet that position with the likes of FC Cincinnati being the latest to join the league. MLS hosts their prestigious soccer games with highly talented football players and impressive crowd attendance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, shared with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Since the new season is on the go, the next thing to think about is where to follow all the related news about their games. Well, you can get your latest news on MLS here at World Sports Network: from the latest soccer news, predictions, betting lines and all related gossips and storylines about MLS.
