Can World Cup mania grow MLS in the U.S.?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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A few weeks ago, we accidentally recorded world history. I was calling up my friend for an interview.
Jenny.
Hi, Becky. How are you? NPR sports correspondent there, Becky Sullivan. Becky had found the oddest watch party for the World Cup.
Hi, Kenny. I'm on a barge.
You're on a barge?
I'm on a barge here in Seattle.
Like a boat? Like a really, like a working boat?
Yeah.
It is even more working than I could have ever dreamed.
Becky is at a World Cup watch party in Seattle. In fact, this is the official watch party hosted by Seattle's Major League Soccer team, their MLS team. Now, MLS, as many of you know, is the top men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. but also maybe many of you don't know that, which I suppose is why a team like the Seattle Sounders have decided to convert a commercial shipping container barge into a welcoming space where people can watch World Cup matches. So you're on a boat, a really big boat.
I'm on a boat.
Now, you want to set the scene, just describe it a little bit for me?
This is a boat. This is an actual barge. The interior of the barge has been transformed into this beer garden watch party situation.
How did a Seattle Sounders barge watch party illustrate MLS's World Cup opportunity?
Down on the deck of the barge is turf. There are families. I'm watching a toddler kick around a soccer ball. And then at the end of it is a gigantic screen set up with big, gigantic speakers. Shirley, you can hear behind me.
And on that gigantic screen and through those speakers is Uruguay versus Cape Verde. It's, in fact, Cape Verde's first ever World Cup.
And Uruguay is the big, big, big favorite. But the game has just started. Uruguay has a corner kick, it looks like. Yes. And we'll see.
Now, even if you've never watched a soccer match in your life, this whole scene, it is part of one of the most fascinating real-time business case studies you are going to find. Because Major League Soccer, MLS, is facing what we here at Planet Money have come to call a real big problem-tunity situation. The problem part of this is that in most countries, soccer is the number one sport. It's not really even a competition. But in the U.S., it is so far from being most people's favorite sport to watch. And even if it is your favorite sport, like, is MLS your favorite version of soccer that you love to watch? But... The opportunity right now is that Major League Soccer has the World Cup in town. It's happening.
And the U.S. is one of the hosts. And that seems like a once-in-a-generation chance if all these MLS teams can somehow find a way to capture all of this World Cup attention for their local MLS clubs.
Yes. There's a lot of different ways that MLS teams are thinking about capitalizing on this World Cup. And so... We have a Cabo Verde goal.
We got a Cape Verde goal. They are up 1-0 on Uruguay. Cape Verde scored their first ever World Cup goal in history. Oh, my goodness. Becky, is the boat shaking? Are you near a life preserver?
There might be a little movement, but that could also just be the wind.
Oh, my goodness. There is nothing like that World Cup feeling. Now, the question is, can Major League Soccer in the U.S. find a way to bottle that up and hold on to some of that very profitable glow? Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Kenny Malone. And joining us for this episode, she has disembarked the soccer barge. She has her land legs back. It is NPR's Becky Sullivan.
Wow. It's so nice to be here. Hello, Kenny. What's going on?
Becky has been zigzagging the country, covering the World Cup for NPR. How many cities have you been to at this point? Five? Seven? Seven. And along the way, Becky noticed something and got in touch with us at Planet Money.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:52
2
How did a Seattle Sounders barge watch party illustrate MLS's World Cup opportunity?
1:52–10:03
3
Why is the 2026 World Cup a 'problem-tunity' for Major League Soccer?
10:03–26:47
4
How did the 1994 World Cup help launch Major League Soccer?
26:47–29:16