The 2026 World Cup has produced some exhilarating games fueled by star power from the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. It also brought lots of debate around whether this will be the tournament that results in long-lasting, year-round soccer interest from Americans.
Former longtime U.S. Soccer president Alan Rothenberg tells Front Office Sports the success of this year’s World Cup represents a “rocket launch” for U.S. attention on soccer, which he says will soon be viewed as the country’s No. 2 sport behind football.
Rothenberg played a pivotal role in bringing the World Cup to the U.S. in 1994 as chairman of the organization committee. From 1990 to 1998, he was president of the U.S. Soccer Federation (which is now known as U.S. Soccer), and served as chairman of MLS from 1993 to 1998. He disagrees with critics who say the World Cup is a moment in time that will not lead to sustained interest in soccer from Americans.
“I think this is gonna be another rocket launch,” he tells FOS.
His confidence is shared by Major League Soccer, which on July 13 launched an advertising campaign based around the slogan “Thanks World, We’ll Take It From Here.” MLS commissioner Don Garber told FOS this week that “as the water level for the sport grows, we’ve got a lot of boats on it.”
