Cover art for Planet Money

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

Planet Money

Published
July 17, 2026
Duration
26:07
Summary source
description
Last updated
Sep 6, 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…

Intelligent Report

Sign in to read teasers, or upgrade to Research Pro to commission intelligent report for this episode. Learn more →

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

Can World Cup mania grow MLS in the U.S.? | Planet Money | Vagelintel