In the 22-plus years I have written a column in this space, this is the first one I’ve written with the focal point being soccer. Much like Roy Hobbs asking sportswriter Max Mercy in “The Natural”: “Did you ever play the game, Max?” Max replied: “No, never have. But I make it a little more fun to watch, you see.” I have followed the U.S. women’s national soccer team since the Mia Hamm days; I have worked as a consultant with Sporting KC, and attended Premier League matches in England with Man City and Crystal Palace. And did I mention I watched every episode of “Ted Lasso”?

On a more serious note, what has captured my attention as a marketer is the maturation of the business model and the support of the corporate community, locally and nationally, for the American version of soccer (it will be difficult to ever refer to it as football in the U.S.). The growth of soccer in terms of participants has never been questioned, with the caveat that someday all of those participants will influence the acceptance and position of soccer in the American sports hierarchy. In 1962, in his autobiography “Veeck as in Wreck,” Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Veeck stated that eventually soccer would overtake baseball because it is the No. 1 sport globally. In fact, baseball is America’s national pastime by proclamation, and in 2025, definitely not by interest.

My interest and attention is being driven by the following:

• The following events will take place in the U.S. in the next six years: FIFA Club........

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