Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant

Rick Burton, Norm O'Reilly, Don Garber

Book cover for Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant
Book cover for Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant

Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant

Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant

Rick Burton, Norm O'Reilly, Don Garber

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Description

Discover the strategy behind Major League Soccer's rapid rise as it aims to compete with global football giants.

Major League Soccer, armed with its massive Apple sponsorship, the imminent arrival of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, the hosting of the COPA America tournament in 2024, and the signing of the game's GOAT, Lionel Messi, could make MLS one of the world's biggest leagues and one, within the next five years, capable of keeping credible company with European leagues such as La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and Bundesliga.

In The Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant, experienced sports business experts Rick Burton and Norm O'Reilly dig into the slow but sure growth of Major League Soccer in North America and the advent of major European teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and others attracting huge fan bases in the United States. For soccer enthusiasts, sports business professionals, and anyone curious about the future of American sports, this book is an essential read that captures MLS's journey to becoming a global powerhouse.

About the Author

Rick Burton is the David Falk Distinguished Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University and the author of numerous books including Business the NHL Way: Lessons from the Fastest Game on Ice (written with Norm O'Reilly). He has also written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and SI.com. He lives in Skaneateles, New York.

Norm O'Reilly is Dean of the College of Business at the University of New England and a professor of Sport Management. He has authored or co-authored twenty books. He is a regular columnist for Sports Business Journal and has published more than 160 management journal articles. He lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Critical Reviews

"[B]y 2025, MLS had expanded from 10 to 30 teams collectively valued at nearly $20 billion. One reason, suggest Burton and O'Reilly in this exuberant account, is that the young league was hungry enough to take a risk on digital media distribution before its more established competition... But in large part this is the story of the strategic leverage of star power, as celebrity athletes David Beckham and Lionel Messi as well as celebrity owners like Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon would bring MLS into the mainstream."-- "Booklist"

Publishing Information

Publisher: Lyons Press
Pub date: 2025-05-06
Length: 256 pages

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