MLS says top players helped make soccer second-most watched sport for under-40s in the U.S.

VIDEO SHOWS: PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MLS COMMISSIONER DON GARBER RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 4, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. MLS COMMISSIONER, DON GARBER, STEPPING UP TO SPEAK 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MLS COMMISSIONER, DON GARBER, SAYING:     “And on the field, our league is more global than ever before. Our roster features players from 80 different countries. More than any other league in any sport around the world. And global superstars, as we all know, are making MLS their league of choice. On Saturday, the greatest player to ever play the game, Lionel Messi, will go up against another World Cup champion and one of the world’s most decorated players in Thomas Mueller when Inter Miami host the Vancouver Whitecaps in what we hope will be an epic MLS Cup.”  3. GARBER TAKING A QUESTION 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MLS COMMISSIONER, DON GARBER, SAYING:     “Now, soccer is the second favorite sport to watch here in the United States among people under the age of 40, behind only American Football. This is an incredible accomplishment by the soccer community here in the country. We are in the midst of a dramatic, generational change – soccer is now an American pastime.”  5. GARBER TAKING A QUESTION 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MLS COMMISSIONER, DON GARBER, SAYING:     “Beginning in 2027, our league will shift to a summer to spring calendar that aligns with the rest of the soccer playing world. That season, we will begin playing in July. We will conclude in May and include a winter break. We will not play games in January. And this decision aligns our transfer windows with the top leagues in the world, reduces conflicts with international callups, elevates our playoff schedule, and will unlock new commercial opportunities. And we’re not just aligning with the world’s best, we aim to compete with them. We’re in the midst of the most exciting era for the sport we ever could have imagined – at all levels.”  7. WHITE FLASH 8. GARBER LEAVING PODIUM STORY: Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said soccer has cemented its place as an American pastime, calling the current era the most exciting in the sport's history in the United States as anticipation builds for Friday's (December 5) 2026 FIFA World Cup draw in Washington D.C.     Garber spoke of changing times for soccer in the U.S., where the sporting landscape has long been dominated by American football, baseball and basketball.     Soccer's popularity has been fuelled in part by the arrival of Argentina's World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi in 2023. The eight-times Ballon d'Or winner joined MLS side Inter Miami after leaving Paris St Germain, bringing a new level of global attention to the burgeoning league.     "On the field, our league is more global than ever before," Garber said at a press conference on Thursday (December 4).     "Our roster features players from 80 different countries. More than any other league in any sport around the world. And global superstars, as we all know, are making MLS their league of choice."     Garber highlighted Saturday's MLS Cup final in Florida, where Messi's Miami will host the Vancouver Whitecaps, a side that includes German 2014 FIFA World Cup winner Thomas Mueller.     "The greatest player to ever play the game, Lionel Messi, will go up against another World Cup champion and one of the world's most decorated players in Thomas Mueller … in what we hope will be an epic MLS Cup," Garber said.     Next year's World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, presents a pivotal opportunity for soccer to cement its place in American culture.     Garber noted that the game has already made significant inroads with younger audiences.     "Now, soccer is the second favourite sport to watch here in the U.S. among people under the age of 40, behind only American football," he said.     "This is an incredible accomplishment by the soccer community here in the country. We are in the midst of a dramatic, generational change – soccer is now an American pastime."     In November, MLS announced that it will overhaul its competition calendar beginning in 2027, shifting to a summer-to-spring season that aligns with Europe's top leagues and moving its playoffs to May.     The first full season under the new timetable will run from mid-to-late July 2027 through late May 2028, with a midwinter break from mid-December to early February and no league matches in January.     "This decision aligns our transfer windows with the top leagues in the world, reduces conflicts with international callups, elevates our playoff schedule, and will unlock new commercial opportunities," Garber said.     "We're not just aligning with the world's best, we aim to compete with them. We're in the midst of the most exciting era for the sport we ever could have imagined – at all levels." (Production: Brad Ulrey, Kurt Michael Hall)

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