North America has seen a rapid rise in football enthusiasm over recent decades, marked by growing fan bases and infrastructure investment [1, 2, 3]. Miami’s Nu Stadium, the newest of about a dozen Major League Soccer (MLS) stadiums built in the last ten years, now hosts superstar Lionel Messi [1, 2, 3]. Former US women’s World Cup winner Mia Hamm remarked on the cultural shift, saying, "You didn’t see that when I was growing up playing. It was just the small soccer community... (now) you can go along the street here in Los Angeles, in the country, people know the players" [1].
Football ranks as the third most popular sport in the US, trailing only American football and basketball, having overtaken baseball since at least 2021 [1, 2, 3]. Daniel Monaghan noted, "football’s quite comfortably in third place, behind only American football and basketball" [3]. The shift is reflected in a 2025 survey where 15% of Americans named football as their favorite sport, outpacing baseball’s 8% [3].
MLS drew 400,000 fans during the 2024 season opening weekend, and total attendance reached 12.1 million for the season, making it the second-largest league globally after the English Premier League [1, 2, 3]. Spending on football-related media rights in the US has surpassed baseball, covering MLS, the US national team, and European league broadcasts [1, 2, 3]. MLS clubs also invested US$336 million on player transfers in 2024/2025, signaling a rising market despite trailing Europe’s top clubs [1, 2, 3].
Around US$11 billion has been spent on football stadiums and training facilities across North America over the past decade, highlighting the scale of investment [1, 3]. FIFA expects to earn a record US$11 billion in revenue from the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted across the US, Canada, and Mexico [1, 2, 3].
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is poised to further boost the sport’s profile and infrastructure in the region.