Tom Penn long believed hosting the FIFA men’s World Cup would be Major League Soccer’s second major boost, after Lionel Messi’s arrival to the league in 2023. Now that the tournament is over, the San Diego FC CEO says it exceeded his highest expectations.
“I always talked about the double booster on the league: the first one Messi, the second one the World Cup,” Penn told Front Office Sports in a recent interview. “As this thing came rolling closer, it was like, ‘Whoa, is it really going to deliver?’ And I think it’s exceeded in every way.”
Penn, who cofounded Los Angeles FC in 2014 and served as the club’s president and co-owner until 2020, called the tournament a “magnificent moment” for the U.S., North America, and soccer.
“It was arguably the greatest sporting event of all time,” Penn added.
Before his career in soccer, Penn was an NBA exec for the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies, and later worked as an NBA analyst for ESPN.
