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Can World Cup mania grow MLS in the U.S.?

Planet Money

Published
July 17, 2026
Duration
26:07
Summary source
description
Last updated
Jul 22, 2026

Discusses As the World Cup comes to a close, so does a massive real-time experiment happening just around the …

Summary

As the World Cup comes to a close, so does a massive real-time experiment happening just around the edges. Major League Soccer – the top men’s professional soccer league in the U.S. and Canada – has been scrambling to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity when average American sports fans suddenly cared a lot about soccer.In between Worl…

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Show notes

As the World Cup comes to a close, so does a massive real-time experiment happening just around the edges. Major League Soccer – the top men’s professional soccer league in the U.S. and Canada – has been scrambling to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity when average American sports fans suddenly cared a lot about soccer.In between World Cup matches, NPR Sports Correspondent Becky Sullivan has been following Major League Soccer executives as they try to figure out how best to