Did you know that various major watch parties in cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle during this year’s FIFA World Cup have been organized by the MLS?
Radhika Duggal, Major League Soccer’s chief marketing officer, told ADWEEK that, in conjunction with FIFA and Fox Sports, the MLS created watch parties as a strategic effort to keep the league top of mind during the global tournament being hosted in North America.
And now, with the World Cup soon coming to a close, the MLS wants to keep the ball rolling, with Duggal saying the league is launching the largest coordinated marketing campaign in its history.
“I think that this is going to be one of the catalysts that’s going to explode soccer fandom in North America,” Duggal said.
Best of the MLS
The league resumes on July 16-17, a few days before the World Cup final, and the new campaign, “Thanks World, We’ll Take It From Here,” invites fans to continue their soccer journey with the MLS.
Set to an Amazon Music Original cover of “Can I Kick It,” created exclusively for MLS and produced by DJ Premier, featuring new vocals and lyrics by Samara Cyn, the national and local campaign spots highlight the best of the MLS. It features a lineup of global icons, celebrity owners, and MLS stars, including Lionel Messi, Son Heung-Min, David Beckham, Matthew McConaughey, Magic Johnson, and Kevin Durant.
The campaign will span national broadcast, streaming, digital, social, out-of-home advertising, and media partnerships. In addition, 15 MLS clubs developed localized campaigns tailored to their communities to complement the national creative.
Fan reintroduction
When she joined the MLS in 2024, Duggal said that through a rigorous, data-driven quantitative process, they developed a new perspective on what the MLS brand stood for: fun, entertainment, excitement, and energy on the pitch.
Using that as a springboard, the league embarked on remaking its brand and creative strategy, combining those attributes with the league’s business vision to develop its most expansive marketing effort in MLS history.
Duggal said the goal of this campaign is to introduce fans to the players, get them to know them as people, and get you to watch a highlight on social to see how exciting the match is, which should ultimately get you to watch it on TV or in person.
Upon the league’s resumption, all 30 clubs will launch promotional initiatives and special offers to welcome new fans, including “First Match On Us” from 22 clubs, which provide complimentary tickets to first-time attendees. These efforts will help ensure affordable and accessible opportunities for fans to experience MLS matches.
Noting that the campaign starts on a day with no World Cup matches, Duggal said the league is exploiting the gap to ensure the conversation is all about the MLS. She believes it has scored the sweet spot for when to launch the marketing, saying that had the league launched earlier in the tournament, it would have been drowned out by the World Cup’s energy and excitement.
“You have too many matches, one right on top of the other. There’s too much coverage and too much noise,” Duggal said.
Calendar alignment
The successful reintroduction of the MLS is not the only thing on Duggal’s plate. The executive is busy preparing for a major calendar shift when the league switches to a fall-to-spring schedule, in line with other soccer leagues around the world.
The MLS is planning an 18-month campaign kicking off in February 2027 and running in roughly “consistent chapters throughout the sprint season and the 2027-2028 season.”
She said she is excited to show up for consumers when they expect to see soccer played in a way that’s unique to the MLS. In addition, the calendar alignment unlocks the league’s ability to participate in global transfer windows in a new, improved way.
This is all happening as the MLS has spent the last two years rebuilding its infrastructure to improve its fan conversion and get its players in front of viewers.
“Good players are good marketing, full stop,” Duggal said.
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