MLS Continues Growth In 2023 As Messi’s Arrival Added Fuel To Fire

Major League Soccer is on fire. Lionel Messi’s arrival set it ablaze.

For the eighth consecutive year excluding Covid-impacted years in 2020 and ’21, MLS has rewritten the league’s single-season attendance record. Currently at 10.4 million and on pace to finish at 10.9 million, attendance is up from 10 million in 2022 and 8.6 million in 2019.

A league-record seven clubs are on pace to set average attendance records, while Philadelphia Union, LAFC, St. Louis City SC and Austin FC have sold out every regular-season match in 2023; Austin FC has sold out every regular-season and playoff game (51) since entering the league in 2021.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled where we are,” said Camilo Durana, executive vice president of Apple partnership, properties and events at MLS and SUM. “As you know, the soccer world often operates in four-year cycles and this cycle is arguably the biggest opportunity in our league’s history as we march toward hosting the FIFA World Cup in North America in 2026.”

While the arrival of the reported soon-to-be eight-time Ballon d’Or winner sent shockwaves throughout sports and pop culture in early June, MLS was steadily growing pre-Messi. Season tickets were up a league-record 9% for 2023, while average attendance per match increased 5% compared to the same period in 2022.

We all know what happened to ticket prices and demand upon Messi’s arrival.

Similar trends can be witnessed across league merchandise and digital/social, magnified by the magnificent Messi.

From February 15 to March 18, MLSstore.com set records for units and revenue, with both metrics up double-digit percentages year over year. Once Messi arrived, the league’s official online retailer surpassed its previous revenue record by the end of August and is outpacing last season and 2021’s record-setting year by double digits.

Messi became the most-sold jersey of the season within 45 minutes of his jersey launch and the most-sold jersey in the history of MLSstore.com within three days of the launch.

On the digital and social front, MLS witnessed a 26% increase in followers on TikTok and 50% more engagement on Instagram posts pre-Messi. Overall, the league has added 5.4 million followers, nearly six times more new followers than 2022, driven by TikTok (+2.2 million) and Instagram (+2 million), while traffic across club and league websites are up 55% in 2023.

While Messi’s magic has helped Inter Miami FC and MLS on and off the field, the 36-year-old who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina isn’t the sole driver toward the league’s growth and appeal, though he plays a major part.

This season marked the first of a 10-year, $2.5 billion global media rights deal with Apple, the debut of St. Louis City SC, the announcement of the league’s 30th franchise in San Diego, and the inaugural Leagues Cup which pit every MLS and LigaMX club against each other in an in-season World Cup-style tournament that was attended by 1.275 million fans.

“It’s only going to get better, and certainly the arrival of Messi put us on a completely different level, but the momentum we had coming into the season was there and we were on track to beat a lot of our historic goals even before the arrival of Messi,” Durana said. “That wasn’t necessarily something that happened overnight and it speaks to the investment by our owners over the years in everything from the right soccer-specific stadiums, staff, training facilities and more.

“Obviously from a business standpoint we’ve done a lot of work to better meet the needs of fans with consumer products, be thoughtful about the stadium experience and even from a schedule standpoint which was really enabled by the Apple partnership and not being bound by broadcast windows.

“He’s certainly a driving force, but I think we’re very focused on making sure we take advantage of the momentum and build in other areas so that inevitably when a player decides to leave Major League Soccer or retire, we’re better positioned and prepared to continue the momentum forward.”

Thankfully for MLS, the league will continue to be buoyed by its young, diverse and digitally savvy fan base. MLS boasts the youngest and most diverse fans in North American sports with the average fan age 37.4 years, 67% Gen Z and Millennial, 77% digitally native and 31% Hispanic.

With the 2024 Copa América, 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics all coming to the country and continent, and potentially the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, MLS plans to continue to fuel football fandom for years to come.

“Those are tremendous opportunities,” Durana said. “For us, it’s taking advantage of those moments, and not dissimilar to the interest that Messi has brought, introducing viewers to Major League Soccer and finding the right ways of engaging them and deepening that fandom so they’re here to stay in the long term.”