The Jennifer Kamara Podcast

Ian Anderson
===

Ian: [00:00:00] the club generates revenue really in three big ways. Um, it generates revenue from. Ticket sales. It generates revenue from its media partnerships, its distribution of, its of its broadcasts, which as I referenced, is something that's gonna be Apple TV centric moving forward.

And then finally, it generates

Jenn: Hi guys. I'm so excited for this episode. Those of you who know me know I'm obsessed with soccer, and so this is a major treat for me. I get to chat with Ian Anderson. He's the Chief Strategy Officer of the San Jose Earthquakes. They're a team based outta San Jose, California. They've won the Major League soccer cup twice.

Ian actually got his start playing soccer. He played at Claremont McKenna College, got a Stanford mba. [00:01:00] He started his career, his professional working career post-college at M L S, and then transitioned to the earthquakes where he's risen up the ranks to C S O. I chat with Ian about just understanding the journey of soccer in the US when it started in 1996.

Up until where we are today. We chat about the opportunities. and boy is it exciting. I really feel like soccer is the next big thing in the US and we also discuss all that is to look forward to for the 2026 World Cup, which we get to host. And just for y'all to know, we've got the MLS Cup starting off on the 25th of February, so make sure the tune, tune-in and enjoy.

In the meantime, here's Ian.

Jenn: hello. Welcome.

Ian: Thanks for having me.

Jenn: Oh my goodness. I am so excited to have you. Like you were talking with my producer. I'm a big football fan and I will call it soccer For the purposes of this recording, I grew up in Sierra Leone playing, as a striker [00:02:00] in high school.

And, love, love, love the game. So very, very stoked for this

Ian: You can call, you can call it soccer or football. I know way it works.

Jenn: amazing. so we've got so much to, to get into. Ian, are you okay with us just diving right?

Ian: Let's dive.

Jenn: Okay. First of all, wanted to set the context of football, soccer in the us. It's not as big of a sport in the US compared to ones like basketball, baseball, hockey.

What's your take on soccer's capability to grow in the US and be more popular?

Ian: Yeah, no, that's, that's the, the billion dollar question. Um, and I think it'll, I've, I've spent my career, uh, in this sport and, and I believe very strongly, in its potential, uh, and its ability to get there. And I think if you take two simple data points, which are the one you mentioned, which is it's the most popular sport in pretty much every other country around the.

um, combined with the fact that, you know, the US is, is arguably the best, the best market for professional sports more [00:03:00] broadly. Um, you know, you figure that those two things, uh, are bound to come together, uh, at some point, uh, and produce, uh, soccer at its best in the us. And I think the question is, is just, it's not if it's, it's really.

Jenn: what will it take to get there? Is it more watching as, for instance, the US performs at the World Cup? Is it other things? Women's soccer rising?

Ian: Yeah, no, it's a good question. So I think it's a, a bit of everything. Um, so I think you can think about it, right? As, you know, how can we become a more competitive sort of men's and women's national team, um, in World Cup competitions, because clearly, you know, world Cup competitions give great visibility to the sport.

uh, and give bumps to viewership of the sport outside of the world. um, you know, in, in years following. Um, and you know, how we're gonna do that is, is we're gonna have better, better American women and men's players. Uh, and that's gonna be achieved by a combination of things. It's gonna be achieved [00:04:00] by, you know, better coaching, uh, and more, uh, great athletes getting into the sport and staying in the sport.

Um, but really to allow that to happen, um, you need a thriving professionally. , uh, within the us uh, at both the men's and the women's level. And that's, you know, I think a, a big part of why, what, what we do, uh, at the earthquakes and, and at MLS is so important because those things, um, you know, those things can't happen, um, that player development, uh, can't happen, which will influence, you know, our, our national team programs and their success in the, in the World Cups, uh, without a thriving, you know, domestic league, uh, in MLS or uh, in N W S L for the women's.

Jenn: Yes. And that's why we're thrilled for the work that you're doing in developing the players across the country. All right, so then for folks that again, may not be as familiar, let's give a quick overview of soccer in the us. Can we talk about then versus now? And you can just pick whatever period makes sense to compare against and looking to get a sense of [00:05:00] growth, maybe number of teams, number of viewers, players, things like.

Ian: Yeah, no, happy to. Um, I think always a, a good, a good starting place for me is, is, you know, when I, I first started, uh, watching, you know, MLS as a kid growing up, the league started, uh, in 1996. Um, it started, uh, with 10 teams, uh, playing largely in N F L football stadiums, which were, uh, you know, too big and cavernous and really not.

to house the game. Uh, it was televised, sort of sparsely. Um, you know, I remember watching, you know, as a kid on channel, I think it was like 4 0 1, which was the Fox Soccer Channel. Uh, and you had to, um, you know, you had to have a special TV package in order to get access to that. Um, so fast forward to win.

I joined, uh, you know, mls, um, in 2011. Um, started my career. Uh, there were 18. . Um, and the league, uh, played in, [00:06:00] I would say at least two thirds, um, of its teams in, in what we call soccer specific stadiums, which were stadiums, uh, that were built, um, specifically to house soccer. The sight lines were proper, um, the, uh, the sort of the, the size, um, the capacity was proper, um, to host football or to host.

Um, and, you know, we had great broadcast partners in, in espn, Fox, uh, et cetera. Um, so the, the, the, the growth between, you know, 10 teams and no TV and big stadiums to, you know, 2011 when you were, you know, 18 teams, proper stadiums and good TV partners was a big jump. Uh, and then now I look at the most recent period, um, which is, you know, 2011 to. And today the league has 29 teams across the US and Canada playing in the, in majority soccer, built soccer specific stadiums. Uh, and recently has announced pretty landmark partnership with Apple, uh, to move all of our matches, uh, onto the Apple TV [00:07:00] platform, which we could talk more about in, in the. You know, in the coming minutes, but is a, I think, a massive step for the league, uh, in terms of credibility and Apple's belief in, in the future.

To your question about the future of the sport, Apple's belief and willingness to make a significant bet on, on MLS and the future of the sport in the country. Um, and also the opportunity for MLS to leverage the marketing muscle, uh, and reach that Apple TV provides. And so, you know, it's simply, you know, once I look at that, um, you know, that, that progression, uh, in sort of three stages.

Uh, I think it's pretty significant.

Jenn: You know, Ian, I had not realized that, soccer has only been up and coming so recently in the US until you just described that.

Ian: Yeah. Well, I'm, I mean, one of the, right, one of the things that's, that's, that's super interesting, right, is if the league only started in 1996, , um, right then, you know, the, the really, the first generation of of kids who watched MLS like myself, [00:08:00] right, are now getting to the point where they're professionals and having families.

And so the opportunity to see real growth, um, from that next generation is part of what we feel, um, the opportunity is. Um, you know,

Jenn: sounds like a huge opportunity to me, especially as you also described, partnerships with Apple and broadcasting more widely, getting it into more homes, having it be more of a household sport that's talked about.

Ian: That's right. And I, I think also, you know, typically, you know, certain consumer products I think can catch on, you know, very quickly, right. As they're fulfilling, like an immediate need. Um, but, you know, sports typically, and, and there are exceptions, but you know, sports are passed down generationally and it's something that.

That, that comes a little bit more slowly, um, with time. And that's why, as I say, I think, um, it's a good, good point to reference, like soccer and MLS is still super young and it's really now where, you know, people who've been exposed to a professional soccer league from the first day they were born are now adults and are passing it onto their kids.[00:09:00]

Jenn: Absolutely. I remember my, how I fell in love with it was watching with my dad, we're watching the English Champions League and rooting. He was rooting for Arsenal. It's like a, a, a lose lose situation at the time. And we were all really into it, but I, I got the passion from my dad and then we as kids would all lose play.

So that makes a ton of sense. Okay. So then you had started talking about MLS as the league. It is the top tier league in the US and Canada. What is the structure of teams and games? I know in, for instance, other sports you have like a Western region that plays versus an eastern region, et cetera. But how does it work with soccer in the us?

Ian: Yeah, sure. So there are a couple of, um, peculiarities to, to the MLS setup. I think it would helpful to start right, typically professional soccer leagues around the world. Operate on, it's called the FIFA calendar. So they play matches from, you know, August to May. They play in in leagues of about 20 teams.

Um, and there are no conferences typically. So those teams [00:10:00] play, uh, against each other, um, you know, twice per year. Uh, and that makes up the calendar. And then there's something called promotion and relegation that exists between, uh, that top flight and the bottom flight. Uh, in the case of mls, it's, it's, it's slightly different.

Um, so we have a larger footprint, um, a larger number of teams I referenced. We're at 29 teams. There's discussions, uh, to add a 30. Uh, and split into two conferences, uh, and split into two conferences in part, um, due to geography. Um, you know, most of the other soccer leagues in the world aren't dealing with the level of travel, uh, that is required in mls.

So having, uh, geographical, um, having geographical focus to the matches is helpful from that perspective, but it also. Um, strategically helps to foster rivalries, which, uh, are one of the things that the league is, is really focused on. I mean, a few of our, our clubs are our teams in the Pacific Northwest.

So Seattle and Portland, for example, have an awesome rivalry that drives a ton of value for the league. Uh, and then even for us in San Jose, the rivalry we have with the LA [00:11:00] Galaxy, which we call the Kelly Classico, uh, drives, drives a lot of. Um, so, and, and then, you know, from a, a scheduling perspective, uh, we actually don't follow that FIFA calendar.

So we, uh, we play from March until October, which again, is, is unique to, um, some of our being difficult in some of our markets to play games outdoors, uh, during the winter period. Um, so, uh, that's, that's the simple lay of the land and, and some of the differences that exist between, um, the mls, uh, conference and geography, uh, versus what, what you might see as you, as you reference in the Premier League in, in, in England or or other leagues around the world,

Jenn: I think that's helpful. Also, calling out the complications with the larger, broader geography, like you mentioned, the other leagues are playing maybe in one country, which is the equivalent of one state, and meanwhile this is an entire continent that teams need to travel across, et cetera. That makes a ton of sense.

Okay, my last question here. What are the biggest [00:12:00] challenges, and then on the flip side of that, opportunities to the field?

Ian: Yeah. Where do I start? , I think we, uh, I think the, the, the biggest cha the biggest challenge is, is, is competition, I think for us and, and time. So I'll start with competition and I think, uh, the, the LE mls and soccer in the US face. two types of competition, which I think is pretty unique to our, our setup.

So we face competition for interest in sport against other professional sports leagues, of which in the US there are many, and all of them have many decade head starts on mls. So that's one area of competition, um, that we face a second is, um, other professional soccer leagues around the. , which we compete with, um, at a number of levels.

We compete with them for players. Uh, we compete with them now ever. More so for, for fans. I mean, this is another thing that I would say [00:13:00] is, you know, when I started watching, I referenced when I watched on Channel 4 0 1 on, on Fox Soccer in whatever, 2000, you know, you didn't, you couldn't easily access the Premier League games or Laga matches or matches from South America, right?

Like they just weren't readily available to watch. But now of course, you know, they. . Um, so, you know, there's competition in watching MLS versus, you know, other, other professional leagues. Um, so I think competition is, is probably the, the biggest, the biggest challenge that we face. Um, and then there's time, uh, again, you know, we, the league grows every year.

The sport grows in popularity every year. Um, but you know, it's still new. Um, it's still fairly. Um, and so the question is how, how can we accelerate that timeline? Um, and I think to answer that question, you know, what are the, the opportunities? I think, you know, one of the, the opportunities clearly is, is our new Apple partnership.

Um, and you know what that can bring for, for us in terms of visibility. I'd say a [00:14:00] second thing is, is, you know, mentioned World Cups. The 2026 World Cup is gonna be hosted here in the us. Was hosted in 94 in the US when, when I was a really little kid. Um, and so there's great opportunity to bring a lot more eyeballs and people say 30, 35 million new people will be exposed to the game through that, that event. Um, and then, uh, and then, you know, I'd say the other big opportunity for us is demographics. Not just that, um, you know, you have a younger, you know, younger generation who's grown up with the sport now having. , uh, and, and, and, and our kids being interested. But, you know, the sport is got a particularly diverse fan base and, you know, the continued, um, you know, diversity within the country, um, from a demographic standpoint is very helpful for us.

Um, and provides some great tailwinds. So I think those are, you know, the, the, the Apple tv, uh, deal, um, you know, the World Cup, you know, coming in 26 and then I would call 'em demographic sort of tailwinds. I think those are, those are really the, the opportu.[00:15:00]

Jenn: That is the trifecta and makes me so excited as a huge fan. Let's talk a little bit about your story. Ian, you have been interested in soccer. I'm, I wanna let you tell us since when, but I know that you played, you started out playing soccer in college, and then you started your career in the m l s office in New York and then transitioned to the San Jose Earthquakes where you've now risen to be the Chief Strategy Officer.

So you've had a really well focused. Career in the field and industry, which is why we're so lucky to have you with us today. When did your interest in soccer start?

Ian: Well, I'll have to go all the way back to, you know, when I was probably six years old, my parents put me in in soccer. I feel like that was the convention at the time. Um, yeah, I played a lot of other sports too growing up, and I just, I fell in love with the game as a, as a, as a kid playing. Um, and, you know, I've built a lot of relationships, friendships, et cetera, through the, through the game and, and I mentioned the diversity of, of people that were playing.

It was a great way to get, um, you know, to know [00:16:00] different people from different cultures and backgrounds, um, around the. . So, you know, I fell in love with it as a player. Um, I played in competitively, uh, in, you know, in my high school ages, in club soccer. Traveled a lot, um, and then played in college. Um, but you know, I, I played in division three school and, and so the idea of, of playing professionally was, was not there.

Um, so, you know, I really didn't know when I graduated college what I wanted to do. I. Um, I'd studied economics. I knew I wanted to pursue a career in business, but I also had this love of soccer. And, and, and really the story actually goes, I, I was talking to mentors, um, many of whom were coaches of mine growing up.

And, and one of them had said, Hey, I have a, a good friend who works at MLS headquarters in New York, um, and they have this, um, internship training program. Albeit again, this is MLS 2011, much smaller than it is today. It was more of a startup time. Um, and uh, and he said, Hey, you should give her a call and,[00:17:00] and see if it's a fit.

Gave her a call. She said they were looking to hire. Had 20 spots in this program. It was a rotational program. You'd come out to New York and, and work at MLS headquarters and learn the ins and outs of business. And so I went, didn't think twice about it and I, I fell in love with it, you know, really much set on site.

I, I had a great six months, I was like a crash course in the, in the sports business. And so I was at mls, and. I was, you know, I, I felt like, you know, built a pretty good network of people in that six months. And, and so as I was looking, you know, post six months to, to find my first, um, my first gig, full-time, um, you know, I, I was looking at different teams that were, you know, embarking on big projects and had interesting leaders.

And the earthquakes at the time were, um, looking to build a new. , that was the big project. I mentioned stadiums and, and the teams had historically played in smaller or bigger, if not purpose-built stadiums and the earthquakes were looking to to, to build a new stadium. And they had actually a GS beer who was running the team at the time, a guy [00:18:00] named Dave Cav.

And I met him, I got introduced to him and I met him for coffee in, in LA at the west and Bonna venture. And, and he was full of energy and personality and I thought, this guy's trying to do something great and Will will be successful. And so I, I joined the quakes from there and, and, and that's really where I got my start, uh, at the quakes.

Jenn: And didn't look back. You know, I love how some of the most, meaningful paths we take can come from simple conversations that we don't even think twice about. Like you mentioned, your culture knew that you loved soccer, we're great at it, and just said, Hey, I actually know someone here. Why don't you give them a call?

And how beautiful of a journey it is to do something that you love to.

Ian: it, it makes, I will say, like, it, it certainly makes the, uh, you know, the, the, the, the time. Commitment, you know, a lot easier, right? When you love it and, and you're passionate. I feel very fortunate that, you know, I've been able to, to find a career where, you know, it's, it's super interesting and challenging in the ways that I think all, you know, careers can be, but at the same token, it's [00:19:00] tied, tied to something you're passionate about.

So putting in the hours, putting in the time, that much easier.

Jenn: So meaningful cuz it's so authentic to you. I wanted to ask then to give folks a sense of the career path options that exist in soccer for others that maybe relate to you and love the game, but may not go professional . What are some of those options?

Ian: Yeah, it's a great question. So, you know, I think we, we always say, um, you know, it's, it's a pretty small industry, but, um, we're always looking for. people who love the game and who wanna help to address some of these challenges that you've asked about, right? How do we accelerate the timeline for growth?

How do we beat the competition? , um, how do we, um, how do we make for a better US men's and women's national team? Um, you know, so I would just encourage people, um, you know, who are interested, um, to, uh, you know, to to, to do their homework and reach out. And I think generally people, you know, [00:20:00] forget your network and your relationships, and I agree with you that oftentimes, you know, the way a career.

you know, and, and soccer starts as a, a conversation with, you know, a coach or somebody who knows somebody. Don't be afraid to have those conversations, even if you feel you don't have the, the quote unquote network. Um, because it is a small world and somebody will lead you somewhere else. And, and if you're determined to get into the industry and you're passionate about it, like we have a, we have a spot for you.

Um, and that would be my, my biggest advice.

Jenn: in ways that even sounds like it aligns with. You just mentioned there are a lot of hours. It's a lot of work. It is hard work. It's not all fun in games. Unintended. and so showing that grit and determination can be useful also to see if you're cut out for the job. Wonderful. Yes. . So you're a Chief Strategy Officer.

Ian, you're the only chief strategy officer that I know. of a, of a football club. So help me understand what that means. What is your role? I know you do data and analytics, commercial revenue, strategic planning, business development, but help me grasp [00:21:00] all of those.

Ian: It's a good question. Um, I would say that title is tough. It's, it's a bit amorphous at times. Um, but actually the role that I have is, is fairly unique. And I would start by saying typically in the leadership suite of, of not just soccer organizations but professional sports teams. If you look at an NBA or N nfl, um, most leadership roles. Squarely on either the, the, the on-field product side or what I would call the off-field product side. So the revenue side. Um, and I'd say part of what's unique about my role and, and why I have the title that I do is that my leadership role kind of sits on both sides. . Um, so I can talk about each quickly.

Um, yeah, so on the, on the, on the on field side, um, you know, my job working with our general manager who leads, uh, the on field product side. Um, my job is to, um, work with our, our team of free full-time, uh, data analytics folks, uh, to help understand how we can [00:22:00] use performance data to better understand, uh, what wins.

Jenn: Yeah. This sounds like Powerball to me, or is

Ian: Moneyball. Moneyball, yes. What wins games? Um, what players are most valuable, uh, what players are least valuable, um, and how we can contribute, uh, to the process of player acquisition or how we can contribute to the process of preparation, uh, or analysis of our performance and individual matches.

And yes, it's, it's, um, it's the, it's the Moneyball, uh, lookalike. Uh, and I would, the only thing I would add. You know, to that is, I think Moneyball did a great job of, of bringing, um, you know, bringing that story to light in, in baseball. Um, and it's a great example of innovation within our, within our industry.

Um, you know, but baseball, um, in many ways was, was better set up, uh, than soccer, um, for analytics. You know, baseball has, uh, if you're familiar, which hopefully most people watching are, [00:23:00] you have, you know, mainly you have a pitcher, uh, against. , um, uh, a hitter and the two of them are playing in a game and there's very little, or there's a lot, there's not a ton of outside influence, so it's pretty easy to understand the relationship between, uh, what outcome comes between a pitcher and a hitter.

Whereas in soccer, you have lots of things going on, on the pitch that are interdependent. So one person's action is dependent on another's. So the, the big.

Jenn: a.

Ian: the big challenge, right, is how do you isolate individual contribution from what others, um, around them, um, are doing. Uh, and I think that's, um, a big part of why, um, you know, we have a bigger challenge from a data and analytics standpoint and soccer and why it's not today in the place, um, that data analytics is in baseball and why the movie was made about right about baseball.

And, and I think our hope. , you know, if we can crack the [00:24:00] code that, you know, we make the movie about soccer in, in 10

Jenn: Yeah, that would be beautiful. I imagine there's a ton about even, it's not even if you take a striker, not just the goals they score, but the goals they support, the assists they make, and so much more I

Ian: well, right. Or even, right, like in, in, in our, in our world, right? We have the things that happen on the ball. , right? So we have passes that players make. We have dribble actions that they make. We have obviously shots that they score or don't score. We have tackles or interceptions that they make, right? We have pressures that they make on the ball, but then on the off ball side, we have movements that they make to open up space for others, for example.

And so how do you, how do you, how do you factor those? How do you capture those things and factor them in? Um, and, and that's a big part of the,

Jenn: Yeah. I'm getting so excited as you're talking about this. Okay. So that's on the pitch and you're factoring these analytics both in terms of potential strategies for the matches with the teams as well as players that you hire things.

Ian: Correct. [00:25:00] Correct. So that's, that's the on-field part. Um, so then the off-field part, um, at its core is, you know, the, the, the club generates revenue really in three big ways. Um, it generates revenue from. Ticket sales. It generates revenue from its media partnerships, its distribution of, its of its broadcasts, which as I referenced, is something that's gonna be Apple TV centric moving forward.

And then finally, it generates revenue from corporate, uh, sponsors. Um, and so one of the teams that I oversee on the, uh, on the, the off field side on the business side is, uh, the team that is responsible for generating corporate sponsorship. and basically building partnerships with, uh, with companies to support, uh, what we're doing.

Um, and the best example, the most obvious example that I can give of that. Is our stadium sponsor is, is PayPal. Um, so the stadium's called PayPal Park. [00:26:00] PayPal pays us, you know, a royal fee for that, uh, over a long term. Um, and you know, they're in it because they're local and they wanna support the community.

And I, I know you, you wanna get into that and I can share a bit about that. Uh, but they're also in it because, uh, they wanna showcase PayPal technology within our stadium. So, uh, when you wanna purchase. Merch item or you wanna purchase, um, a drink or something to eat? Everything within our stadium is, is PayPal and Venmo enabled.

Uh, and it's a great, um, it's a great, uh, living showcase for them of, of the product use case.

Jenn: That makes a ton of sense. So then let's talk about the partnerships and impact to the community because. For me, my interest here comes from the sense of, to me, soccer and music are things that bring humans together more than anything else. You look at the World Cup and the amount of viewership it gets, or you look at the Super Bowl and you see people of all sorts of backgrounds coming together, cheering on a team.

It's just such a human [00:27:00] emotion and a beautiful feeling. Hence the beautiful game to me. and so because of that, I imagine that how a soccer team thinks about its community and partnerships must be different from how a normal business does. And then you also factor in you are nurturing the next generation of soccer players.

You mentioned this to be a huge opportunity in the us so with all of this context, was curious how you think about partnerships both with, I guess, corporate sponsors and your local c.

Ian: Yeah. Well, I think it's, it's one and the same. I mean, I, I think a big part of our, our part, and you'll look, if you look at our roster of partners, they're all, not all, but the majority are, you know, San Jose or Silicon Valley based and, and a big part of what. what, you know, we view ourselves as a civic entity.

Um, we're something that our community can be proud of or something that is inclusive and, um, you know, wants people from, you know, all, all, you know, all corners of our community to, to, to, to support and participate. And so when we go to corporate partners, um, right, we, we know that we have synergies. [00:28:00] That they, that they're often in the same, in the same place where they view themselves as, um, you know, ha having, having civic, uh, responsibility, um, to be visible in the community and to support the things that make like a place like San Jose or the South Bay, a better place to work and live.

Um, and so I think that's really where the synergies, um, exist, um, between us and our corporate partners and that we, we, we, we are aligned on, on that, um, on that goal for the local community.

Jenn: And there's something about having a sense of pride to be from San Jose affiliating, associating with the San Jose Earthquakes and then going to PayPal Park. And I know something that you worked on since you've been with the team is really tapping into the Silicon Valley companies and becoming a part of that culture and partnerships.

Ian: Yeah. No, it's, it's a good, it's a good point. And, and you know, we, we, you know, when I, I rejoined the quakes, in 20, uh, 19 after the, after going to business school. And we really didn't [00:29:00] have any tech partners, big tech partners as you mentioned. And really we,

Jenn: if you think about

Ian: it, it, it was surprising, but, you know, um, we, we took like with the pandemic hit and we really had a chance to, to take a step back and say like, well, this should happen, right?

There's tons of synergies. Like, what, what do we need to do? What's the right message? What, what, what are those synergies? And that's where we, where we really landed on, you know, c. as something that we could all rally around, like the desire to, to invest in San Jose. Um, and we talk a little bit about the specifics of San Jose, but, but then secondarily like, you know, how can we, how can we showcase technology, um, you know, within our, within our venue, within our club, and, you know, so we've ended up with, you know, we, PayPal I mentioned, um, we have big partnership now with Adobe, Roku, Uber, Dropbox, um, and you know, we're really proud.

Jenn: Beautiful. All right. Let's talk about the World Cup 2026. I dunno about you, Ian, but I can't wait. I'm so excited.

Ian: I [00:30:00] cannot wait. Lot to do between, lot to do between now and then, but yes,

Jenn: Yeah. Lots to do. And again, that is wild that the last time the World Cup was hosted here, we, it sounds like we didn't have a leak. Right?

Ian: And, and actually, uh, let's start with that, you know, The, um, the, that World Cup in 94 really was the impetus to create Major League soccer. So, um, you know, there had been leagues in the US previous to 1994 that had started and then folded. Um, you know, there was the N A S L in the seventies, there were indoor leagues, um, but it was really the 1994 World Cup that spurred the creation of MLS in 90.

Jenn: So then what do we have to, what's the work that we need to get done to get ready?

Ian: Well, to get ready. I mean, I think the, the, the good thing is right from an infrastructure standpoint, you know, the US is pretty much ready today. We have the, you know, the best, some of the best stadiums in the world, um, and, you know, associated infrastructure. So I think we're, we're

Jenn: Can I ask, can I double click on that? Are [00:31:00] these gonna be football stadiums as an American football, or are they specifically soccer stadiums that are

Ian: Uh, good question. They'll mostly be at football stadiums because FIFA requires. The, the larger capacities. And again, you know, the, the stadiums that MLS teams plan are typically 20 to 25,000 seats, which is better suited to the demand, um, and also better suited to creating an intimate environment. And by the way, that will be true of the vast majority of soccer stadiums or club soccer stadiums around the world.

But for the World Cup, yeah, you have to play in, in, you know, 60, 70,000 seat seat venue. Still be at NFL stadiums mostly.

Jenn: Makes. So it sounds like infrastructure-wise we're ready.

Ian: Right. So then the question is, right, what, what more can we do to, to, to a, grow the profile of the sport and then b uh, you know, field a more competitive, you know, team or as competitive a team as possible to, to hopefully go deep into the World Cup. Um, I mean, I, on the latter. Um, you know, I will say this, you know, if, if, if anyone, you know, [00:32:00] watched the 2022 World Cup, uh, in Qatar in November, um, you know, for me is the most talented, you know, US team we've ever had.

And the vast majority, I would say of the players who played, uh, in the 2022 World Cup will play in the 2026 World Cup. We had a particularly young.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Ian: those players are playing all over the world, right? Some are here in mls, but some are, you know, at big clubs with Chelsea, um, you know, in, in Europe

and.

Jenn: with some of the best, which is incredible.

Ian: Right. And you know, so those guys are gonna be, you know, if they were 22, 23, 24, uh, today they're gonna be 26, 27, 28, and 26 really in their prime. So, you know, I think, um, I think we're well positioned to be competitive there cause we have a good, good nucleus of, of young players who are playing at a high level now.

Jenn: Let's go.

Ian: so let's go. I agree. Um, and then I think what can we do to grow the profile between now and. This is where, you know, I think MLS is right at the heart of that. Um, right. And, [00:33:00] um, I, I referenced right, some of the, the opportunities that, that we have with Apple tv, uh, coming online for the next five years.

And, and, and that really increasing, um, you know, our profile and our distribution. Um, you know, and then the work that we do right at, at the club, at the club levels of 29. , um, to continue to, you know, invest in our, our on-field products, uh, as well as our stadium experiences, uh, so that more people can, uh, can see good soccer, uh, can have a fun, fun time in the stadiums.

And, and, and that brings, you know, the awareness to them, uh, of the sport running into the, into the World Cup in 26.

Jenn: Yeah it feels like we've got a ton of momentum do you know how the stadiums are being selected and how the decision to have it across Canada, US, and Mexico was made?

Is it because soccer is maybe less popular currently today in Canada and the US or something else?

Ian: I think the thought was, you know, unified bid between the three, the three countries cuz they had to bid. , um, as a unit, the us, Canada, and [00:34:00] Mexico bid against others, and FIFA has a process for selecting, uh, who hosts. Um, so I think it was just conceptually a very strong bid that they felt, you know, gave them the best chance in terms of the venues.

Then a sub-process, um, you know, happened once the, once the, the, the US, Canada, Mexico bid was, was selected then a sub-process. Um, happened where cities in both the us, uh, the us, Mexican Canada, uh, bid to host and the bid host processes, you know, as you can imagine, it was showcasing venues, showcasing infrastructure, showcasing corporate, uh, sponsorship support, showcasing local grassroots soccer interest infrastructure.

And, and actually the earthquakes participated, uh, in the Bay Area. Um, to host, um, and, uh, and obviously the, the barrier is one of the, which is great and great for the quakes. The barrier was selected as one of the host cities for, uh, for the World Cup with the games at, at Levi's. The 49ers, uh, stadium

Jenn: In [00:35:00] San F.

Ian: in, it's down here actually.

It's in, it's in Santa Clara.

Jenn: Oh,

Ian: known. Yeah. The 49ers stadiums and San Francisco 49ers played in Santa.

Jenn: Okay, well that's exciting. I wanted to talk about, hot Takes for World Cup 2026, 1000%. Let's go Team u s A. We're gonna come out strong. do you have any hot tick about players or anything else? My not so original one on players is that we're gonna have m Mbae be the Killian and Mbae be one of the best players of all time.

He also fun Fact has a little brother who's also very good, Ethan. And so maybe they'll be two M MBAs that are magnificent players. But I'll turn it over to you.

Ian: Whew. I mean, I think there's a lot of things to think about. So, yeah, I mean, em, MBAE is one of the best in the world now, certainly will be. Then, um, you know, his performance in the World Cup final was, was unreal.

Jenn: Yeah,

Ian: but I can see a lot of storylines. I mean, one that I think is interesting to think about is, is the field is gonna be, So currently there are 32 teams and moving to 48 team [00:36:00] field in 26.

So I think that will create a slightly different dynamic, right? More teams.

What does that mean for, um, what does that mean for sort of competitive balance? And you know, historically it's been get out of the group and that's really hard. Like how does that change that? So I think that's one thing, you know, to consider.

I mean, you know, other big storylines would be right, the US team and how much it changes between now and 26, like I said, really strong foundation, um, that we have in place now. You know, will some of the, the big players like a Leo Messi, will he come back and play in a, I dunno if it's fifth or sixth World Cup, I can't even remember now.

Um, you know, and he'd be 39, uh, or 38 at that point. Um, so I think there's lots of really interesting storylines. Um, and uh, yeah, like I said, there's a lot to do between now and then, but it will be an amazing, it will be an amazing event and, uh, and I'm super looking forward.

Jenn: It makes me think of the analytics again, and there's so many interconnected things at play and variables and very hard to predict. But for sure what will [00:37:00] happen is it'll be a blast. All right. Let's go back to the rise of soccer. I wanted to chat about content and what opportunities that may hold for us soccer in the context of relative to how popular it is globally. We talked about the Apple deal several times already. I wanted to get your take on the opportunity for streaming content on avenues like Apple, Netflix, et cetera. One example that feels really interesting to me is Formula One and how it was relatively unknown before the Netflix show, and now we're all going to see Formula One.

We live in Austin. We've been to. And it's really brought the sport on the map. So curious with this Apple deal, et cetera, and being a strategy leader, what your thoughts are on the opportunities with content for popularity of soccer?

Ian: It's a good question. You know, that is a, a great example of, you know, breakthrough content. Um, and I would be, um, I would be misrepresenting myself if, if I, if I had the golden right, the golden, uh, the golden Ball or the golden idea.

[00:38:00] Um, you know, I, I would share, I think that, um, you know, so, uh, right. Ted Lasso is probably the thing that I think that, you know, maybe the, the mainstream, uh, you know,

uh, right. Sports fan might recognize and, and look, I think. while I said that there is a competitive nature that exists of, Hey, you know, am I following mls?

Am I following the Premier League? Am I following Laga? I do think in general, um, more soccer related content is good. And so I think in ways I might answer your question by saying the more soccer content in whatever form it might be, that we can bring to the most number of eyeballs. And again, this is where I think Apple.

You know, penetration and, and, and, um, and installed base are so helpful for us. But the more content, soccer content we could put in front of people, that sort of is gonna lift all, you know, all boats.

Um, and uh, and then I think the other thing I'd say is, you know, we do have a [00:39:00] relatively younger demographic, so I referenced right?

So like if my, if our generation is right on the older end, right, of the fan base, which might be a bit of a bit of. A bit of a stretch, but, but our fan base is generally younger than, for example, the NFL fan base or, or the major league baseball fan base. And so, you know, streaming is what we know, right? Um, and social content is, is very much what we.

Consume. And so I think mls, the quakes in particular, we've invested hugely in our, in our people, in our capabilities, in, in, in developing and, and, uh, distributing social content. And so I think, you know, our strategy is let's, you know, let's, let's immerse people with that, with that content and, and be great there.

Um, and I think that's, that's a big content opportunity that.

Jenn: Interesting thing that I wanted to bring up as well is Ryan Reynolds just bought a soccer team. This is not in the US Reim and he has a show, uh, about it, and that also felt really [00:40:00] smart to me. Do you have any thoughts there?

Ian: no, super cool. And you know, I, it's also, uh, you know, a lot of American, um, You know, investors are, uh, sort of, um, not a tangent, but separate topic like a lot of American investors, um, you know, are taking positions in, in soccer teams around the world. Not, not notwithstanding the great investors in mls, but are taking positions in, in soccer clubs around the world, which is giving it more visibility and yeah, no, I think that's a great, uh, it's a great, it's a great ploy for him for.

Jenn: Yeah. Sounds like, because youi tend to have had business folks invest in teams like basketball, for instance. Like you have Mark Cuban who owns basketball team, and it sounds like we're getting others who are very interested in soccer, starting to own teams and bring more visibility into it.

Ian: that's right.

Jenn: All right, Ian, I wanna talk about resources as we close and leave folks with things that they can take away. We definitely know that soccer is the next big thing. And [00:41:00] so for parents and kids who, for parents of kids who are interested in soccer, what's, how do they get their kids into soccer?

What should they be aware of in nurturing their kids' career, either while on the field or off the.

Ian: Yeah, good question. So, I mean, I can speak from my, my personal experience and I think, you know, for my kids or, or, or for a parent, like, you know, you, you put your kids in the game and they gotta, they gotta love it, right? And, and that's where it starts. But if they do, right, then I think, uh, like I mentioned, a big part of creating the infrastructure that we need to, to, to, to, to sort of nourish great players is a.

Professional league, and that's both at the men's and the women's level. And so I think the biggest thing you can do, and this might sound self-serving, but the biggest thing you could do, you know, once you're in the game, for example, your kids in the game or, or you're, you're in the game, is, is support your local pro teams right In, in the N Ws l and the women's league and, and in in mls and the men's team, uh, in the men's league.

[00:42:00] Um, you know, buy tickets, watch the games, um, and not, and honestly, it's not just because that's the support that's needed to grow the game, but because we've got great stadiums, great players, um, and great fan environments that are super inclusive and, and fun. Um, and so I think if I were to, to simply put it, , that's what we need.

We need you to, we need people who love the game to continue to play. And those that are playing, uh, we need them to support, um, you know, their local men to women's professional teams. And that's gonna be the, the linchpin to, to, to growth.

Jenn: And also Ian is an example of a career path off the field, so you could explore those as well. Um, I love that you mentioned women, and I wanted to talk also about how do parents empower their, their daughters to become the next Megan Rapino, the next female soccer star.

Ian: Both at the men's and the women's level, we, we striving to be, we're striving to be the best, we're striving to have the best leagues, best national teams, and, um, that's a [00:43:00] super, you know, exciting. You know, opportunity. And obviously the US women, at the national team level are, you know, are the best in the world.

The best in the world. And, you know, I would imagine that that, you know, the motivation to be a part of that and, and to continue it would be really strong. And yeah. And then the only other thing I would say as I, as I just said, is, you know, it's really important that, that the N W S L continues, like MLS continues to grow.

you know, and, and for that to happen needs the people who love the game to support it. And, you know, so, you know, for for, for, for young girls who are playing and want to play at that next level, like, you know, obviously there's the, the train hard and, and dream big, but then there's also the, you know, go support your local team.

Jenn: All right, and then let's close with this. We know that soccer around the world is described as the beautiful game. It brings humans together from all walks of life.

What does soccer mean to you, Ian[00:44:00]

Ian: Wow, profound. Um, you know, and I'll answer it in pro, pretty profound way. I mean, for me it's, it's, it's everything, right? It's, it's been, it's been my, you know, my childhood, my, my college career, my profession. It's where I've, you know, made my friendships. Um, it's what we did as a family. Um, and like I said, it's, it's opened, you know, my eyes to, you know, lots of, you know, different things that I truly believe I wouldn't have been exposed to you.

Um, traveling the world, um, you know, to, to see soccer and experience soccer both as a player and now working in the, in the game. So, um, I think it's, it's, it's meant pretty much, you know, everything to me. And, um, it makes, you know, it makes this journey, um, all the more exciting. So,

Jenn: To a beautiful journey. Ian, that was such a wonderful way to end. It was phenomenal to have you. I had so much fun and I learned a lot about US Soccer, so thank you.

Ian: Good. I'm glad you did, and we'll have to, we'll definitely have to get you [00:45:00] out to Austin fc.

Jenn: All right. Woo. That was amazing.

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