Sola Winley
Major League Soccer is now home to the biggest sports star on the planet, Lionel Messi of Inter Miami. With every perfectly weighted pass and Instagram-friendly goal before sold-out crowds paying top dollar for tickets, imaginations soar and new fans across the U.S. and Canada are drawn into the world’s game.
It’s like Pelé, the 1970s, and the North American Soccer League all over again. Except it’s not. Because all the attention this time is built on a foundation of stadium, business and community development across the continent that has been curated over nearly three decades. Over the past three years, that has included investments by MLS and its 29 teams in youth and grassroots soccer, right down to the entry level.
Like other professional leagues that are members of Project Play 2024 – our roundtable of industry-leading organizations committed to taking actions aligned with Project Play’s shared framework – MLS has come to recognize both the need and the opportunity to introduce programs at the very opposite end of the talent pipeline that delivers their commercial product. But why?
Tom Farrey, the executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, put that and other questions to Sola Winley, MLS executive vice president and chief engagement officer. Below is an edited transcript of their conversation, our latest installment in the Project Play 2024 Member Spotlight series.
Tom: You just introduced MLS GO, low-cost leagues for boys and girls that exist outside the existing soccer ecosystem, aiming to grow participation by improving the local recreational experience. Is the investment being made to create the next generation of fans? Or the next generation of players?
Sola: I’m not sure it’s an either/or. Player development is also fan development. The mission of MLS GO is to help kids grow up to develop a love for the game. At the same time, our research shows that fandom is cemented by age 14. That’s the age at which, for players, our (MLS club) academies begin. We started MLS GO to extend our brand and to expose the game to kids as early as age 4.
Kids love playing soccer in this country. It's a high participation sport. But that hasn't necessarily translated into those players being fans of Major League Soccer. We want them to be fans of MLS, to root for their home club. That’s why every MLS GO program will have MLS-branded jerseys. Kids are wearing our kits and our colors, and that matters. We can engage in ways that are important for our business and for the entire ecosystem. And there’s no reason why in five years we can’t have and shouldn’t have half a million to a million kids participating in MLS GO. We have ambitious goals.
Tom: MLS this month endorsed the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports, a framework that our program drafted with the help of human rights and sports policy experts that has been endorsed by nearly 200 organizations. We think that’s great because it helps create a cultural expectation about access and the minimum conditions under which kids should be served by programs. Why sign on?
First, I wish to express thanks to all who helped to craft and shape the document. MLS signed on because we share in the fundamental truths of the bill. That sport for kids should be a joy and not job. That an inclusive environment and treating one another with dignity and respect is the essence of all human interaction for any healthy, high-functioning community, whether that be a team or a town, a city, or a corporation.
Tom: What else is MLS doing to improve youth soccer?
Sola: In 2020, we took over the Development Academy that the U.S. Soccer Federation had started. Now it’s called MLS NEXT. We’ve grown it and today there are close to 15,000 participants, comprising the top boys in the country. MLS NEXT allows the best to compete against the best, both domestic and foreign. Last year we instituted a Culture Coordinators program to educate coaches on our expectations of excellence and developing a whole human being, on and off the pitch, the same values and expectations that underpin NEXT Pro and MLS first teams.
Tom: If the general public imagines youth soccer as mostly White suburban kids carpooling in minivans and eating orange slices or Latino kids playing pickup soccer, what can the soccer ecosystem do to make Black kids feel more welcome?
Sola: In my view, it’s less of a racial distinction than a socioeconomic distinction. It’s the cost of being able to continue to play, right? Many clubs charge $2,000 to $3,000 a year in fees. Very few families can afford that, let alone the cost of travel on top of that. If you’re fortunate to be good enough to play for an MLS Academy we have eliminated the cost, but it’s not the same for elite-level private academies. I understand there’s a business model that exists, and those models are difficult to disrupt because they have a real impact on people’s lives. But the economic barrier to soccer is real, and MLS alone will not be able to disrupt that entire system. It's going to take all of us to recognize that if we want the best athletes to play our game, we’re going to have to collectively find ways to remove barriers to access and intentionally support those communities in this country that have been systemically undervalued by soccer.
We also need to make sure that kids see that professional soccer is welcoming for them and will be inclusive of their talents. In basketball and football, and this used to be the case in baseball, Black kids have hundreds, if not thousands, of heroes and role models that have made it out of difficult socioeconomic circumstances to improve their lives and their families’ lives over the course of generations. The more that Major League Soccer continues to get exposure and our athletes continue to be recognized as the stars that they are, the more eyeballs and attention the league receives. There’s no reason why soccer and ultimately MLS can’t attract and compete for the best athletes in the country. It’s good for business and I have confidence that we will.
Tom: Our sports system in the U.S. is very decentralized and that’s probably no more apparent than in soccer. We’ve got the national federation, the state associations, US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, AYSO, all these different bodies that compete to register players. We have multiple professional leagues. Does that decentralization make the objective of increasing participation more difficult?
Sola: I don’t know that I would use the word decentralized. I would say it's interconnected. We must figure out ways to work more harmoniously, to collectively come together to create opportunities for all who want to play the sport to be able to do so.
Tom: In terms of the whole ecosystem having to come together, what did you think of the strategic vision that U.S. Soccer Federation released this month? It’s a five-pronged plan – number one is Grow the Game. And number two is Foster the Best Playing Environments. What are your thoughts on that?
Sola: My thought is that the more energy that can go that can go towards strategically thinking about how to grow the sport and reduce barriers to access in this country to improve safety and improve coaching, that can only be good for everybody. I'm pleased that U.S. Soccer sees the value in that and is taking a leadership position in that space, as are we.
Tom: Messi is bringing a ton of attention to the league, but obviously coming up on the horizon, we have the World Cup in 2026. In terms of growth, what does a successful World Cup look like for MLS?
Sola: Commissioner (Don Garber) said this many times, that’s going to be the rocket fuel that continues to take the league to the next level. Because it's the game itself that inspires love. I'm really excited about what the next few years have to offer, with Copa America coming next year, the FIFA Club World Cup the year after that, and then you have the World Cup and the potential of the Women's World Cup (in 2027). Soccer in the United States is on the map. MLS has a significant role to play in that success.
The sky's the limit for Major League Soccer. The commissioner often talks about the league being a league of choice, and with the World Cup, more of the best talent in soccer will choose to bring their skill and leadership to our league both on and off the pitch. The public is choosing to spend time watching our games and choosing to purchase our merchandise and to play in our competitions. And in in the months and years to come, we see more kids self-selecting soccer as their sport of choice.
Learn more about Project Play 2024, our industry roundtable, and read other interviews with leaders.