American Soccer Industry: Top Stories in 2025

The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw and game schedule may have dominated headlines as 2025 wound down, but the year delivered far more than just 2026 tournament excitement (although there was plenty of that, too). From historic league structure announcements to record-breaking viewership numbers, from major investments to mascot unveilings, 2025 showcased the breadth and momentum of soccer’s growth across the United States and North America.

What follows is a look back at some of the year’s biggest stories across key industry sectors—ownership, partnerships, media, infrastructure, and more. While far from exhaustive, this recap captures the variety and scale of developments that made 2025 a landmark year for the sport in the region.

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Infrastructure

The landscape of American soccer’s league structure evolved significantly in 2025. United Soccer League announced its intention to launch a new professional league in 2027-28 that will be sanctioned by U.S. Soccer as a Division One league, completing a youth to top-tier professional pathway within the USL organization alongside USL Championship (Division Two), USL League One (Division Three), USL League Two (Pre-Pro), and USL Youth and USL Academy (Youth). When launched, the new league would join MLS as Division One-sanctioned men’s leagues.

In a historic vote, USL owners became the first professional soccer league in the U.S. to adopt promotion and relegation, creating a three-tiered pyramid system. The Women’s Premier Soccer League announced that WPSL PRO will have Division II status, filling a gap in the U.S. Soccer pyramid. WPSL PRO will feature a player-first business model with a proposed profit-sharing structure that directly rewards players for the league’s success. Among the 15 teams that paid the $1 million expansion fee is a Cleveland group that plans to build a $50 million, 10,000-seat downtown stadium.

The NWSL awarded an expansion team to Atlanta, with the league’s 17th team set to enter in 2028 and play its home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with modifications to set capacity at roughly 28,000. The to-be-named club will be owned by Arthur M. Blank and operated by AMB Sports and Entertainment, joining the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, and Atlanta Drive Golf Club (TGL) in Blank’s sports team portfolio.

MLS announced it will align its schedule with the world’s top leagues beginning in the summer of 2027 by adopting a summer-to-spring season format. The 2027-28 season will begin in mid-to-late July with playoffs occurring in late May 2028, with the league observing a winter break from mid-December through early February.

FIFA and tournament hosting dominated infrastructure discussions throughout the year. The FIFA Council approved plans to expand the Women’s World Cup from 32 teams to 48 teams for the 2031 edition, bringing it in line with the men’s competition. The Women’s World Cup will adopt a 12-group format, increasing the number of games from 64 to 104. U.S. Soccer announced a joint bid with the federations of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica to host the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The tournament would be the largest in Women’s World Cup history with an estimated 4.5 million fans attending games across the region. In its official bid book, U.S. Soccer included 14 stadium sites in the United States with the remaining six coming from Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica. Proposed Mexican stadiums are in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Torreón, while new national stadiums are proposed in Kingston, Jamaica and San Jose, Costa Rica.

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With all this talk of North America hosting more tournaments down the line, discussions between Concacaf and CONMEBOL are taking place that could see the United States host the 2028 edition of Copa América. CONMEBOL has other hosting options including Argentina and Ecuador, but should this come to fruition, it would be the second consecutive time the United States has hosted Copa América after 1.6 million fans attended the 2024 tournament.

Meanwhile, LaLiga called off plans to hold a regular season game between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami, citing reaction by players, fans, and other stakeholders in Spain to hosting an official game in another country, as well as uncertainty around organizing a game in a short amount of time.

Youth development and accessibility initiatives advanced throughout the year. U.S. Soccer announced the launch of the Kang Women’s Institute designed to accelerate advancements in the women’s game through science, innovation, and elevated best practices. The launch is made possible by a historic gift from women’s sports advocate Michele Kang, with the institute’s aim to establish research-backed best practices to inform the wellbeing of players at every level of the sport.

A study by NC State University’s College of Natural Resources, in consultation with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, revealed that 6.5 million children now live within a half mile of the more than 800 mini-pitches across the country. The study found 87% of programming at mini-pitches is offered free or at reduced rates and 70% are in densely populated, low-opportunity neighborhoods.

U.S. Soccer revealed the Federation is launching a new “Pathway Strategy“ to create world class players and reduce the cost for young people to play the game. The strategy has buy-in from MLS, NWSL, USL, youth soccer organizations, key sponsors, and community organizations with early-stage memorandums of understanding having been signed. And speaking of U.S. Soccer, the federation partnered with The Soccer Tournament, the 7v7 tournament with a $1 million prize for winning men’s and women’s teams. As part of the deal, U.S. Soccer will sell sponsorships and media rights for the tournament for the next four years. NBC and Peacock held the tournament’s broadcast and streaming rights in year one with ESPN taking over in years two and three. Earlier this fall, The Soccer Tournament received a $6.8 million grant from the N.C. Department of Commerce to continue in North Carolina through 2029, having generated $23.9 million in total economic impact for Cary and Wake County since last year.

The investment landscape in American soccer strengthened with several major moves. Michele Kang made a $25 million investment in U.S. Soccer, following a $30 million commitment in November earmarked for women’s soccer. The Federation will integrate Kang’s Kynisca Innovation Hub into its Soccer Forward Foundation and the pair will work together to research athlete health and establish best practices for performance. This investment came at a time when momentum in women’s soccer reached new heights, as evidenced by Bay FC setting an NWSL attendance record when over 40,000 fans attended a special-edition regular season game against the Washington Spirit at Oracle Park in San Francisco, breaking the previous record of 35,038 fans set last year at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

New York-based private capital investment firm Apollo is set to launch a $5 billion strategy specializing in lending long-term strategic capital to sports leagues and clubs, including considering ownership stakes in teams. Apollo has already provided loans to teams including Sporting Lisbon and Nottingham Forest, and has held conversations with Atlético Madrid to help finance a major redevelopment project. Elsewhere, BellTower Partners, a private investment firm founded by global business leader Kewsong Lee, made a strategic investment in USL, complementing the league’s expansion plans and momentum. Lee joins the USL Board of Directors as Vice Chair.

And the Seattle Sounders announced they are seeking a strategic capital raise that would involve significant outside investment, with the club looking for a large minority partner that can lend capital and expertise to big project ambitions, including the potential for a new soccer-specific stadium at its Longacres development site in Renton, Washington. The team’s lease at Lumen Field expires in 2032.

If we’re going to talk infrastructure, we of course have to talk stadium development news, which came from all corners of the country throughout 2025. The Chicago Fire unveiled plans for a $650 million, privately funded, soccer-specific stadium expected to open in Spring 2028. The 62-acre future site of the stadium and mixed-use development is in Chicago’s South Loop along the Chicago River and west of the club’s current home, Soldier Field. The stadium is at the heart of a project to turn the area—called The 78—into Chicago’s 78th neighborhood. But Chicago wasn’t the only city with stadium news, as approvals, designs, or exploratory conversations were announced in cities like Denver, Detroit, Tampa, Albuquerque, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Miami, Reno, Grand Rapids, Long Island, Green Bay, Omaha, Des Moines, and more.

Ownership

With the sport’s infrastructure and investment landscape evolving, new owners entered American soccer at all levels in 2025. American soccer players continued expanding their ownership portfolios. USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams added Westchester SC to his investments, joining the USL League One franchise set to begin play in March near where he grew up in New York. Adams also owns Hudson Valley Hammers of USL League Two, following in the footsteps of USMNT teammate Timothy Weah, who became part-owner of Brooklyn FC in USL Championship in 2024. Meanwhile, legendary Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini transitioned from his role as Player Development Coach to the ownership group at LAFC, the club where he spent his final two seasons as a player before retiring in 2023.

The NWSL attracted a wave of investment from basketball stars throughout the year. Three-time WNBA champion and Bay Area native Sabrina Ionescu joined Bay FC as both an investor and Commercial Advisor, partnering with the club on commercial strategy and supporting players building brand endorsements. Indiana Fever forward/center Aliyah Boston joined Boston Legacy FC’s investor group, which also includes Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, actress Elizabeth Banks, and Boston Celtics GM Brad Stevens. NBA players also entered the women’s game, with six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler joining San Diego Wave as a minority investor and Chris Paul becoming one of four new investors in Angel City FC, a club valued at $250 million.

Celebrity and entertainment figures made notable moves into club ownership, as well. San Diego FC added actress and producer Issa Rae and Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems to an ownership group that already features World Cup winner Juan Mata and Padres star Manny Machado. Snoop Dogg became an investor in Swansea City, joining Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić in the Welsh club’s ownership structure. Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin joined Denver NWSL’s ownership group alongside Hall of Fame quarterback and former Bronco Peyton Manning.

American investment in European soccer also expanded. New York Jets owner Woody Johnson agreed to a $254 million deal to purchase a 43% stake in Premier League club Crystal Palace from American businessman John Textor. NBA star Kevin Durant added a minority stake in PSG to his existing soccer portfolio, which includes the Philadelphia Union.

Partnerships

The growing infrastructure and ownership base attracted significant commercial interest. FIFA and the 2026 World Cup secured several major commercial deals throughout the year. American Airlines became the Official North American Airline Supplier of the tournament, partnering with Qatar Airways to provide exclusive flight rights internationally. AAdvantage and Privilege Club members will have access to World Cup tickets through airline redemption programs. DoorDash, along with portfolio brands Deliveroo and Wolt, signed on as an Official Tournament Sponsor for both the 2026 Men’s World Cup and 2027 Women’s World Cup, spanning nine countries including the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

Diageo made its FIFA partnership debut, activating top consumer brands like Casamigos, Don Julio, Buchanan’s, Johnnie Walker, and Smirnoff across all 16 host cities. Valvoline Global also joined as a partner with retail and experiential activations planned for the tournament buildup, while Hisense extended its FIFA partnership that began in 2017 to become an Official Sponsor focused on enhancing fan experiences through television display technology. Airbnb announced a multi-tournament partnership with FIFA, as well as individual Host Committees.

U.S. Soccer added several significant corporate partners to its roster, as well. Bank of America became the first Official Bank Partner of the Federation and its 27 National Teams in a long-term deal that also makes the financial institution a Founding Level Partner of the new Atlanta training center. The partnership introduced SheInvests, a program complementing U.S. Soccer’s SheBelieves platform to help investors learn about financial planning and investment strategies. Home Depot also joined as a partner of all 27 National Teams and the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Atlanta, with plans to spotlight local Hometown Heroes creating positive community impacts.

American Airlines, fresh off its FIFA World Cup partnership announcement, also signed a multiyear deal with U.S. Soccer to enhance travel experiences for fans through exclusive AAdvantage perks, gameday moments like game ball presentations, behind-the-scenes player access, flyaway trips, and premium hospitality experiences. Elsehwere, Kellanova entered its first-ever sports partnership for its entire snack portfolio, bringing brands like Cheez-It and Pop-Tarts to national advertising, digital and social content, in-store retail activations, creative packaging, and purpose-driven events in soccer communities nationwide.

Purina became the Federation’s first-ever Official Pet Care partner in a deal running through 2030, with plans for a campaign celebrating the human-pet bond, custom player-and-pet content, on-site adoption events, co-branded merchandise, and retail promotions. Ferrara, home to candy brands like NERDS, Trolli, SweeTARTS, and Laffy Taffy, signed on as the Official Candy Partner with co-branded creative campaigns and limited-edition products planned for stadium activations, sampling programs, and community engagement events. And Chobani became the Official Nutrition Partner, championing nutrition and empowerment through programs like Chobani Ball Kids, coach development pathway initiatives, and the Soccer Forward Foundation, while umbrella brand La Colombe Coffee Workshop became the Official Coffee and Cold Brew Partner.

The Mexican Football Federation announced several partnerships throughout 2025. The iconic Estadio Azteca was renamed Estadio Banorte as major Mexican bank Banorte agreed to a $105 million loan repaid over 12 years in exchange for naming rights and stadium promotions to help fund final remodeling stages for the 2026 World Cup. Amazon Mexico agreed to sponsor both the Men’s and Women’s National Teams, as well as Liga MX and Liga MX Femenil. DoorDash became the official on-demand delivery partner of the Mexican men’s and women’s national teams in the United States with in-stadium displays, customized fan promotions, and activations at MexTour and MexTour W games. Ready-to-drink cocktail company BeatBox signed a multi-year deal as the official party punch of both national teams, engaging fans through media assets, fan programs, and hospitality experiences. Castrol became the official motor oil and lubricant of both National Teams in the U.S., complementing its existing sponsorships with the NBA, WNBA, and NASCAR.

Canada Soccer secured partnerships with General Mills Canada to spotlight togetherness and community through stories of the men’s and women’s national teams, building off a three-decade Team Canada Olympic sponsorship with brands like Cheerios, Nature Valley, and Old El Paso. Ferrero Canada also joined as an official partner, activating through retail packaging, displays, fan promotions, and youth soccer festivals with brands including Nutella, Kinder, and Tic Tac.

Major League Soccer added CENTURY 21 as an official partner in a multi-year deal that makes the real estate company the Official Real Estate Services Partner of MLS, the MLS All-Star Game, and MLS Cup, with integrations into national broadcasts on MLS Season Pass, in-stadium promotions, and on-site presence at marquee league events. Más+ by Messi, launched in 2024 as a collaboration between Lionel Messi and Mark Anthony Brands, became the official hydration partner of MLS NEXT and MLS GO, marking the first-ever sponsor of the recreational program for boys and girls ages 4-14 in 44 states. Corpay’s Cross-Border business entered a multi-year agreement to become the Official Foreign Exchange Provider, giving MLS access to innovative solutions for mitigating foreign exchange exposure and managing global payments from a single access point. Walmart signed a multi-year partnership with both MLS and Leagues Cup to activate across stadiums, screens, and stores, including a Leagues Cup spotlight, dedicated Saturday programming, a creator network, and multi-channel fan engagement events at tentpole moments.

The NWSL welcomed e.l.f. Cosmetics as the league’s Official Makeup and Skin Care Partner in its first beauty sponsor partnership, leaning into the brand’s “Empowered.Legendary.Females.” platform to amplify voices of women in sports. The league also partnered with Tylenol, which later extended to a club-level deal with Gotham FC.

United Soccer League expanded its commercial footprint with several deals. BWH Hotels became the Official Hotel Partner and Preferred Hotel Supplier, providing teams and fans exclusive travel benefits and enhanced experiences with virtual in-game integration providing player performance insights. Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water signed a multi-year deal as the league’s Official Water Partner and presenting partner of USL on TUDN, including a custom content series called “Find Your Source of Greatness” showcasing interviews with players, coaches, and fans. The most significant USL announcement came when Gainbridge became the first-ever entitlement partner of a professional soccer league in the U.S., serving as the Exclusive Financial Services Partner of the Division One women’s league.

Leagues Cup secured Ocean Spray as its official juice partner in a multi-year deal that leverages the brand’s ‘Just Add Cran’ campaign, including a sweepstakes with hundreds of prizes running through July 2025. Walmart’s partnership extended to Leagues Cup in addition to its MLS agreement.

LaLiga partnered with Lowe’s in a multi-year North American deal that made the home improvement retailer the inaugural title sponsor of LaLiga’s ‘El Partidazo’ event series, featuring geo-targeted LED boards, meet-and-greets with LaLiga legends, and custom content at each event.

In European soccer, Barcelona and Spotify extended their partnership through 2030 for men’s and women’s first team jerseys and front of training jerseys, with stadium naming rights for Spotify Camp Nou remaining until 2034. AB InBev entered exclusive talks with UEFA to become the official beer sponsor of the Champions League starting in 2027, replacing Heineken’s three-decade run with a reported six-year deal valued at $232 million per season.

Among NWSL clubs, the Portland Thorns secured the richest jersey deal in league history with Amazon-owned Ring in a multi-year agreement that puts the home security company’s logo on the front of jerseys, cold-weather jackets, and media backdrops, reportedly surpassing Bay FC’s estimated $2.5 million annual deal with Sutter Health. Gotham FC announced the largest back-of-jersey sponsorship in NWSL history with Dove, making the Unilever brand’s first-ever investment in a women’s sports team as presenting partner of the club’s Keep Her in the Game initiative addressing disproportionate rates at which adolescent girls opt out of sports.

Gotham FC also extended its multi-year partnership with CarMax, keeping the nation’s largest used car retailer as front-of-jersey sponsor and presenting partner of regular season Fan Fest, regional MSG Networks broadcasts, player of the game awards, the CarMax Kids program, and an original content series. The club added Tylenol as its Official Pain Reliever in a multi-year deal featuring on-site activations, in-venue media and branding, and integration in multiple content series. Angel City FC partnered with CarMax as presenting partner of the club’s ticket program, title night event, and camps series, with CarMax already established as a main advertiser in women’s sports through deals with other NWSL and WNBA teams.

North Carolina Courage announced tech solutions company Inmar Intelligence as a multi-year partner and back-of-jersey sponsor. Kansas City Current announced a multi-year renewal with Nuuly, the online clothing rental subscription service. San Diego Wave extended and expanded its partnership with PNC Bank in a three-year deal that makes the financial institution the Official Women’s Business Champion of the club.

In MLS, the Columbus Crew unveiled ScottsMiracle-Gro as new multi-year naming rights partners after Lower.com’s stadium naming rights concluded. The Ohio-based company, North America’s leading marketer of consumer lawn and garden products, expanded its 15-plus year partnership with the club that has included supplying products to maintain grass playing surfaces, in-stadium promotions, and community initiatives. The Portland Timbers announced a multi-year front-of-jersey partnership with Bank of America—the first-ever prominent feature of the financial institution’s branding on a professional sports jersey—with the partnership featuring BoA’s ‘Soccer with Us’ initiative to make soccer more inclusive and accessible across Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Media

Commercial partnerships translated into expanded media coverage throughout 2025. Streaming and digital platforms made significant moves in soccer coverage. Apple and MLS announced that beginning with the 2026 season, all MLS games will be available to stream for Apple TV subscribers at no additional cost, with the standalone MLS Season Pass subscription having concluded following the 2025 season. As part of the transition, an Apple TV subscription will be included with 2026 full-season MLS ticket packages.

Netflix signed a partnership with AB InBev as the streaming giant continues its push into live sports with 94 million global users. The multinational drink and brewing company will advertise on Netflix’s live shows, including the NFL’s Christmas Day broadcast and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with the partnership also including campaigns tied to Netflix original shows, limited-edition packaging, and digital promotions.

Paramount+ signed a marketing partnership with Arsenal on the heels of a four-year, $1 billion-plus deal to secure Champions League rights in the UK. The agreement will see Arsenal’s players, legends, and fans woven into various series like “Landman” and “MobLand,” with the club collaborating on social media campaigns and Paramount+ branding visible inside the stadium, on big screens, in gameday programs, and in other activations.

Traditional broadcast networks unveiled major plans for World Cup coverage. FOX Sports, the network home to English-language coverage of the 2026 World Cup, announced coverage plans featuring an unprecedented number of games on network television. Of the 104 tournament games, 69 will air live on FOX with the remaining 35 on FS1, while all games will also stream live on FOX One and the FOX Sports App. FOX Sports will offer over 340 hours of first-run programming, marking a 100-hour increase over the 2022 tournament. On the Spanish-language side, NBCUniversal reported that Telemundo has already sold out 90% of its advertising inventory for the tournament despite it being more than half a year away, with advertisers committing double the spend compared to the 2022 World Cup. Major brands in the lineup include Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Bank of America, The Coca Cola Company, Diageo, McDonald’s, Toyota, Volkswagen of America, and Xfinity.

Social and creator media entered the soccer space with notable partnerships. MrBeast, one of the world’s most well-known content creators, teamed up with TelevisaUnivision to launch “Road to Beast Cup,” a global initiative featuring a 1v1 Creator Cup at Estadio Banorte in Mexico City bringing together creators and soccer legends from around the world. The series will be distributed across MrBeast’s social channels and TelevisaUnivision’s platforms. The NWSL partnered with Overtime to provide the platform’s over 100 million social followers with regular season and playoff content including game highlights and behind-the-scenes access, targeting highly engaged Gen Z and Millennial audiences to complement the league’s existing media partners CBS Sports, ESPN, ION, and Prime Video.

And U.S. Soccer added Westwood One Sports as its new domestic English-language audio partner in a multi-year partnership running through 2030. The agreement gives Westwood One exclusive broadcast rights to U.S. Soccer-hosted games, including USMNT and USWNT friendlies, Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals, and the SheBelieves Cup. Westwood One has nearly 10,000 affiliated radio stations and is the largest audio network in the U.S.

Viewership

The year produced several viewership milestones across soccer competitions in the United States. The Concacaf Gold Cup Final between the U.S. and Mexico saw Mexico claim a record 10th title with a 2-1 victory that averaged 3.73 million viewers, making it the largest-ever English-language audience for a Gold Cup game and the most-watched English-language soccer broadcast on any network since the 2024 Copa America Final. Viewership peaked between 8:45-9:00pm ET with 5.2 million viewers, marking a significant win for FOX.

The revamped 2025 FIFA Club World Cup concluded with Chelsea defeating PSG in front of over 81,000 fans at MetLife Stadium and 1.3 million viewers at home. The tournament’s new 32-team format drew nearly 2.5 million fans to games across 11 U.S. cities, producing an average game attendance of 39,557.

The UEFA Women’s Euros Final set records on FOX when 1.35 million viewers tuned in to watch England defeat Spain, marking the most-watched women’s Euro game in English-language broadcast history and a 53% increase from the 885,000 viewers who watched the 2022 final on ESPN. Viewership across the tournament averaged 458,000 per game, up 97% from 2022.

NBC Sports recorded its most-watched Premier League opening weekend on record in the United States. Across six games live on NBC, USA Network, Peacock, and NBC Sports Digital platforms, the average viewership was 850,000—up 4% from the prior record set in 2024. The weekend’s marquee Manchester United versus Arsenal game on Sunday averaged 2 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and NBC Sports Digital platforms, making it the most-watched Premier League opening weekend game and the second most-watched Premier League game on record in the United States, trailing only a 2024 Manchester City-Arsenal game that drew 2.1 million viewers.

The NWSL championship saw Gotham FC win its second title in three years while the league set a historic viewership record. The final averaged 1.184 million viewers on CBS and Paramount+, making it the most-watched game in NWSL history with a 22% increase over the 2024 final and a 45% increase over the 2023 final. The seven league playoff games broadcast on ABC/ESPN and CBS averaged 550,000 viewers with a cumulative audience of 3.36 million, an 18% increase over the 2024 season.

MLS Cup 2025 between Inter Miami CF and Vancouver Whitecaps FC closed the year with record-breaking multi-platform consumption and social engagement. The game garnered 4.6 million-plus viewers across all platforms while setting new benchmarks for social media impressions and attracting the youngest-ever MLS Cup audience, with 70% of viewers under 45.

Branding & Culture

The Denver NWSL franchise—the club that added Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin and Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning to its ownership group—revealed its official name as Denver Summit FC. The name was selected after receiving the most first-place votes in a fan vote and is a fitting choice for a Colorado-based club with fans equally passionate about the outdoors. The club will begin play in the 2026 season and recently broke ground on a state-of-the-art performance center. While it won’t be ready until 2028, the club also announced plans for a 14,500-seat stadium.

Meanwhile, Boston Legacy FC—the expansion team that added Aliyah Boston to an investor group including Aly Raisman, Elizabeth Banks, and Brad Stevens—announced its new name after moving on from its initial name, BOS Nation, due to backlash from fans and the wider NWSL community. The 15th league franchise, set to debut in the 2026 season, arrived at the name following an extensive period of fan feedback and quantitative analysis, drawing upon the city’s rich history in athletics.

Mascots made their debut across multiple soccer organizations, as well. Concacaf introduced its seabird mascot, Volar, which represents unity, strength, and passion for soccer. The most eye-catching feature is its wingspan, composed of 41 diamond shapes—each displaying the flag of Concacaf’s 41 member nations. The mascot’s name is derived from the Spanish word for “to fly,” reflecting that none of the Concacaf nations are landlocked.

FIFA unveiled the three official mascots for the 2026 World Cup, highlighting each of the three host nations: Maple the Moose represents Canada, Zayu the Jaguar represents Mexico, and Clutch the Bald Eagle represents the United States. In addition to having a physical presence leading up to and during the tournament, the mascots will feature digitally as playable characters in the upcoming FIFA Heroes video game.

And U.S. Soccer was the most recent to share their mascot, inspired by a Chesapeake Bay retriever, with the federation citing the breed’s “bright and happy disposition, courage, willingness to work, and intelligence.” The mascot will wear No. 27 to represent the 27 national teams under U.S. Soccer’s umbrella.

In other notable news, soccer reached a financial milestone when Cristiano Ronaldo became the sport’s first billionaire player. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, based on career earnings, investments, and endorsements, Ronaldo has a reported worth of $1.4 billion.

Additional Industry & Fan Insights

Want more insights into the American soccer industry from 2025? Take a look at some of the research and features we published over the course of the year: