Former US Soccer chief: World Cup boom could make soccer America's No. 2 sport

Alan Rothenberg, the former long-serving president of U.S. Soccer, believes the 2026 World Cup has pushed the sport towards becoming the second most popular in the United States behind the NFL. He made the assessment in an interview with Front Office Sports.

The tournament is being staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the United States men's national team's run to the round of 16 on home soil has helped drive attention. Rothenberg, who was central to bringing the 1994 World Cup to the US and chaired Major League Soccer from 1993 to 1998, expects the effect to exceed the legacy of that earlier tournament, though he cautioned it will not happen immediately.

What Rothenberg said

Rothenberg described the current moment as a potential launch point for the sport in the US, while stressing that growth would be gradual rather than instant. He pointed to MLS attendance, which still trails the NFL and MLB on average, as evidence that the domestic league has ground to make up even as its crowds have matched or surpassed the NBA and NHL in recent seasons.

• Rothenberg rates soccer as potentially the No. 2 sport in the US, behind only the NFL.
• The 2026 World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
• The USMNT reached the round of 16 on home turf.
• MLS launched an advertising campaign on 13 July under the slogan 'Thanks World, We'll Take It From Here'.
• MLB's 10-year, $2.5billion Apple TV agreement signed in 2022 has placed games behind a paywall.

The 1994 comparison

The 1994 World Cup was also expected to transform the American sports landscape, and the rise in interest that followed was slower than many had anticipated. Since then, MLS has signed a series of high-profile names, including David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Son Heung-min, with Lionel Messi — now at Inter Miami, co-owned by Beckham — the most prominent of them.

Messi is aiming to lead Argentina to a second consecutive world title in Sunday's final against Spain at MetLife Stadium, a fixture that gives the hosts' market another global showcase. Whether the interest generated this summer translates into sustained audiences and attendances will be the measure of Rothenberg's prediction over the coming seasons.