Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world. The Champions League final is the most-watched annual sports event, and the FIFA World Cup draws in billions of viewers. However, despite the USA boasting what is likely the most coveted sports market, soccer simply didn’t take root in the nation until very recently. Now, though, its popularity grows with each passing MLS season, with the most recent viewership numbers indicating that America is finally getting into the beautiful game.

According to Nielsen, ESPN’s English-language coverage of the MLS saw a two percent increase in the 2019 regular season, boasting an average audience of 246,000 viewers across the channel’s 31-match schedule. Viewership peaked with the Seattle Sounders vs. Atlanta United matchup on July 14, with 462,000 viewers tuning in to see the 2-1 scoreline unfold.

The MLS appears to be in good health and not just because of its appeal to overseas greats who are in the twilight of their respective careers, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Nani, and Bastian Schweinsteiger. The league is increasingly focussing on the development process, which will only help to grow the sport further in the USA.

Soccer is finally appearing to crack the American market, and this has opened up a huge range of opportunities for the sport to grow globally, with third parties looking to capitalize on this expanded audience in their own ways.

Love of legends but a focus on development

The MLS knew that to become sustainable, it needed to move away from its model of recruiting veteran players from the top European leagues. Bringing in players like David Beckham, David Villa, and Andrea Pirlo was great to bring attention to the league and build a foundation, but lasting fandom comes from a connection to the team, which in the USA means having all-American players being drafted in at 18 to 22-years-old and then coming through the ranks.

German soccer legend and former head coach of the US men’s national team Jurgen Klinsmann has stated that he’s very happy with the direction of the MLS. In an interview with the official website, Klinsmann stated: “I think MLS is a wonderful place, to come through.” This has given potential fans more reason to come to games and watch television broadcasts as they can connect to the players on the field and follow their progress.

Growing MLS fandom means increasing demand for soccer products

With MLS fandom being cemented in, there has been a swell of demand in the USA for products and applications which allow fans to interact with soccer. One of the go-to ways in which fans can interact with the sport is through online and console games, but unfortunately, during this major year of growth for soccer in the USA, the mainline sports games have disappointed.

While eFootball PES 2020 has been labeled a success with some bugs, FIFA 20 has been demolished in user ratings and reviews for being unavoidably broken at launch. One sector of gaming that continues to pump out new and working soccer games, however, is that of the online casino, where slot machines like Foxin’ Wins Football Fever, The Champions, and Hot Shots continue to gain traction with new and existing fans of the sport.

Having a wide range of games that allow new fans to interact and immerse themselves in the sport helps to solidify their support to forge long-term followers. With a larger audience, there are more fans to appeal to, with more money coming into soccer products, further enhancing the quality of future products. But the new games and other such soccer-focused products being released to appeal to the new and growing audience, they come into the pool for the billions of soccer fans around the world, further making the whole experience of being a soccer fan even better.

It’s great for the sport of soccer that it is growing in one of the biggest markets in the world. It brings more people into the fandom, makes the whole scene more diverse, and will lead to even better soccer-based products being released.