MLS works to bring in a new generation of fans as the World Cup comes to an end

Major League Soccer is using the World Cup’s final stretch to bring in a new generation of fans, turning the tournament’s U.S. spotlight into measurable local momentum. In Chicago’s West Loop, the Chicago Fire’s World Cup watch party has drawn crowds for five weeks, with estimated attendance of 60,000 people or more during the summer. The campaign is part of MLS’s longer effort since hosting the 1994 World Cup, which helped reshape soccer’s U.S. ecosystem and directly contributed to the league’s 1996 creation. MLS has grown from 10 teams at launch to 30 last season, and today every match is televised on Apple TV. In Chicago, the Fire invested just under $3 million to build out Recess, a bar space set up to show every game on a large multi-sided screen, alongside team branding, sign-ups, and contests.