For Soccer Ventures Acquires Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing, Forms For Soccer

Just as Canada, Mexico and the United States are coming together to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the joint goal of growing soccer throughout the continent, For Soccer Ventures and Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing are also combining forces to further the beautiful game.

Today, For Soccer Ventures announced its acquisition of Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing to form For Soccer: the largest full-service, soccer-specific media and experiences company.

“It’s really about ambition,” says John Guppy, former Chicago Fire president and CEO who launched Gilt Edge in 2008. “Our ambitions are bigger and I think we are better together than either one of us could do individually. It’s the proverbial one and one makes three, and that’s why, ultimately, we’re coming together and what we’re looking to do over the next several years.

“… All we do is focus on soccer. We believe very, very specifically in the importance of focus and specialization, and the only way you can deliver that to the market is doing what we’re doing. Our goal is to go super deep and truly understand the soccer consumer better than anyone else.”

For Soccer’s executive team features new CEO Ernesto Bruce, who spent nearly two decades at Adidas, Guppy, who serves as president of growth enterprises, and Heath Pearce, president of marketing and communications.

For Soccer is led by For Soccer Ventures founder Richie Graham, the managing principal and founder of Striker Partners, where he oversees all activities of the private investment firm including sourcing, evaluating, monitoring and divesting of portfolio company interests. He also leads the Graham family’s investment in Major League Soccer through the Philadelphia Union.

“There’s been continuous growth from the women’s game, international club interest, American players playing abroad, and obviously the success of the USWNT,” Bruce says. “There’s been a lot of these pivotal moments throughout the past and now that we have a massive moment in the 2026 World Cup, what we aim to do is really accelerate that growth.

“Our company is very much focused not on changing the game or reinventing the game, we’re here as a marketing company to accelerate the growth of soccer.”

Soccer’s growth and popularity in North America, and particularly the United States, has been well documented since the 1994 FIFA World Cup. It’s been driven by a young, culturally diverse and digitally connected audience.

Major League Soccer, which kicked off play two years later, has tripled the number of its teams since 2004 and is welcoming its 29th franchise, St. Louis City SC, when the 2023 campaign begins February 25. Franchise expansion fees have gone from $7.5 million in 2004 to $325 million paid in 2019 for Charlotte FC, which set the league’s single-game attendance record of 74,479 for its inaugural home match on March 5, 2022.

Since 2019, the average MLS team’s valuation has climbed 85% to $579 million with LAFC valued at $1 billion, per Forbes estimates.

The league posted a record attendance of 10 million during the 2022 season, and recently announced a new global media rights deal with Apple, guaranteeing MLS at least $2.5 billion over 10 years.

Domestically on the women’s side, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which is reportedly adding franchises in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area and Utah beginning in 2024, welcomed a record 1+ million fans to matches in 2022, while it’s championship game was the most-watched match in league history at 915,000—a viewership increase of 71% from the 2021 final.

Angel City FC, which raised money in a Series A fundraise at a $100 million valuation, has its sights set on becoming the first women’s team with a billion-dollar valuation.

NBC paid $2.7 billion for rights to broadcast the Premier League through 2026-27, while ESPN paid $1.4 billion in 2021 to broadcast LaLiga for eight seasons.

Soccer is the third-most-popular sport for Gen Z (behind football and basketball), according to Two Circles study, while an estimated 17.8 million Americans played soccer in 2020, compared to 2.3 million who played ice hockey, according to the Sport and Fitness Association.

Coupled with the success of the four-time World Cup champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist USWNT, the new generation leading the USMNT, and Americans playing abroad at some of the biggest clubs in Europe, soccer is hotter than ever.

“We do believe that soccer will be one of the preeminent sports in North America,” Bruce says. “It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. It’s just a matter of time.”

For Soccer plans to add fuel to the fire through two strategic pillars: owned- and operated-soccer properties like Alianza de Futbol and Black Star, as well as providing best-in-class marketing services.

The new company’s combined portfolio includes: Adidas, Paramount+, Allstate, Ford, Verizon, PepsiCo, Bimbo Bakeries, Puma and Volkswagen. It additionally includes industry partners: Girls Academy League, Liverpool, MLS and Premier League.

Alianza de Futbol is the largest Hispanic soccer program in the United States, while Black Star is a platform accelerating the growth and popularity of soccer in Black communities. For Soccer also owns and operates two soccer lifestyle properties: FootyCon, curated experiences where soccer and culture collide, and The Association, an influencer-led soccer league in Los Angeles.

“The barrier’s never been higher for participation,” says Pearce, who made 35 appearances for the USMNT during an 11-year career as a pro. “Some of this is about accessibility, some of it is awareness. On the participation side we want to make sure we’re continuing to build these relationships in these communities so that when we come in with our programs, we’re not just picking up and leaving but continuing to establish and support the communities and the needs they have.”

Seeing the room for growth in the women’s game, particularly as all eyes will be fixated upon the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand this summer, Bruce says For Soccer is “actively looking” at how to further invest in the women’s soccer, whether it’s through building a property or investing in an existing one.

Soccer is poised to continue its growth toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which isn’t being viewed by For Soccer as a culmination of the sport’s popularity on the continent, but as a highly powerful accelerant.

“For those that don’t know and haven’t experienced a World Cup, we believe what is about to happen in 2026 is truly transformational,” Bruce says. “It’s not really a tipping point, but a major catalyst for the sport. I don’t believe that the broader U.S. sports audience knows what’s about to hit them because World Cups are like no other sporting event that happens on this soil. It’s going to be a massive, massive celebration.

“We’re really excited about the Women’s World Cup this summer, Copa America in 2024, and then to really celebrate it in a massive way for 2026, I think is going to open a lot of people’s eyes that it is going to be that pivotal moment. Then it’s a rocket ship.”