While millions of fans count points and wait for the World Cup knockout stage, Major League Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League are quietly preparing for the moment the tournament ends. Both leagues, currently on pause during the World Cup, are using their marketing channels to capture attention at the height of tournament frenzy and convince both new and existing fans to stick around through July and beyond. The strategies were detailed by the leagues’ marketing chiefs in an interview with Marketing Dive.
The opportunity is significant. Although only 27 percent of US consumers currently identify as soccer fans, 37 percent of the general population expects their interest in the game to increase, according to Nielsen data cited in the report. For MLS and the NWSL, that gap between current fandom and rising interest is exactly the space they are trying to fill.
MLS treats the World Cup as a customer acquisition moment
For MLS, the tournament is more than a cultural event. MLS CMO Radhika Duggal described it as a major customer acquisition opportunity, arguing that fans falling in love with World Cup energy are watching the same players on the same fields that define Major League Soccer. When the World Cup leaves, she noted, the league is still there.
To bridge that gap, MLS is rolling out its first enterprise-wide marketing campaign, with the league and its clubs going to market together across traditional advertising, creator amplification and experiential channels. Duggal pointed out that the competition for soccer-related attention has never been more crowded, and that going to market collectively is the only way to break through. The campaign will also be integrated with local market affiliates of Fox, the World Cup broadcaster.
The timing is deliberate. MLS returns from its summer pause just days before the World Cup final, followed by all-star week, the Leagues Cup with Mexico’s La Liga, and a sprint season in early 2027 as the league shifts its calendar to align with European soccer. Duggal framed the campaign as a bridge to what comes next, rather than an end point in itself.
NWSL leans on a creator-led Summer of Soccer
The NWSL is taking a parallel approach, using the World Cup to prime fans for the return of the women’s game. In May, the league launched a “Summer of Soccer” campaign spanning fan activations, creator integrations and community programming. CMO Rachel Epstein, who joined the league in April, said the platform was built to embed the NWSL in the broader soccer conversation so that as the men’s tournament closes, fans see the league as the natural next destination for their fandom.
At the centre of the effort is the “Summer of Soccer Road Trip,” a branded bus touring NWSL markets and major soccer destinations through June and July. Epstein positioned it as the opening move in a five-year build toward the 2031 Women’s World Cup, which will be partly hosted in the US.
Creators move to the centre of the strategy
Both leagues are leaning heavily into creator marketing, a channel the IAB now classifies as a core media channel on track to reach 44 billion dollars in spend next year. Epstein said the NWSL is prioritising creators who can show up authentically rather than simply those with the largest reach, with goals of serving more frequent content to core fans and drawing in new, younger female audiences.
MLS shares that logic. With league and club social channels now reaching nearly 113 million followers globally, Duggal observed that most people no longer discover the league by switching on a broadcast and watching a full match. Instead, fans increasingly encounter MLS while scrolling YouTube, TikTok or Instagram, finding the league through stories told by players and creators.
Brand and platform partners amplify the message
Partnerships sit at the heart of both strategies. MLS has a multiyear deal with TikTok that unlocks new ad products, and last year launched a custom creator network with Walmart, a partner Duggal valued for its vast reach into US households. The league also works with major marketers including Adidas, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Chevrolet and Allstate, and in February named Chime its official retail banking partner, citing the brand’s appetite for culture-driven marketing.
That same culture-first approach has shaped the NWSL since its 2012 launch. Tylenol and Yeti are sponsoring the Summer of Soccer tour, Ally backs Rivalry Week and E.l.f. sponsors the Challenge Cup. Epstein stressed that the value for partners lies in creating organic ways in rather than simply slapping a logo on an asset, helping sponsors meet their own business goals while amplifying the league’s message.
As the World Cup builds toward its final, both MLS and the NWSL are betting that the surge of attention can be converted into lasting fandom, turning a single global tournament into the launchpad for years of growth.
