How the MLS plans to convert World Cup interest into lasting soccer fandom

This summer’s soccer World Cup tournament will provide a rare opportunity for major advertisers looking to engage sports audiences over a month-long festival of footwork, free kicks and the occasional foul — all taking place in the U.S and Mexico.

But Major League Soccer (MLS) has a bigger ambition: to convert U.S. viewers entertaining a passing interest in the World Cup into long-term soccer fans of Inter Miami, New York City FC or the Seattle Sounders. Soccer publisher Footballco, and brands such as Purina, have similar goals.

Club soccer has risen in popularity among American viewers in recent years, helped by a trickle of European soccer stars like Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Son Heung-min joining the league during their sunset years — and the steadily growing appreciation for British and European soccer from afar.

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