AT&T has been a sponsor of MLS since 2009.
MLS expansion. The inaugural Leagues Cup. Lionel Messi’s imminent arrival. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand. The 2024 Copa América in the United States. The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. Oh my!
With soccer hotter and more popular than ever in the United States, brands like AT&T are doubling down to continue their support of the world’s most popular game in the country with all eyes on the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to the continent.
Today, AT&T and Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the marketing arm of Major League Soccer (MLS), announced a multi-year sponsorship extension between AT&T and Leagues Cup, Federación Mexicana de Futbol (FMF) and MLS.
“It’s the greatest time,” MLS deputy commissioner Gary Stevenson said. “I’ve been in this industry a long time and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a groundswell of momentum like this happening with the sport, with our league, with the Mexican National Team and with the U.S. national teams, both the men and women. There’s so much energy.
“I think it’s rewarding for us and I think it’s rewarding for our long-term partners.”
AT&T has been a long-time supporter of soccer in the United States, initially backing the Mexican National Team’s U.S. tour in 2005, while sponsoring MLS since 2009 and U.S. Soccer since 2013.
The telecommunications giant announced its extension with U.S. Soccer in April. As part of the partnership with U.S. Soccer, AT&T produced a content series called “The Call” where men’s and women’s players received the good news of their inclusion on the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup rosters.
“I think we all believed that the sport itself, based on such a global acceptance and passion point, that the United States would eventually embrace it and they have,” said Mark Wright, AT&T vice-president of media services and sponsorships. “There’s so many appropriate connection points for a company like AT&T in terms of that belief, demographic, growth and passion.”
MLS posted a record attendance of 10 million during the 2022 season, while the MLS Cup in November had the league’s best viewership since 1997 (2.2 million on Fox and Univision). MLS has tripled its teams since 2004 and in May announced its 30th franchise kicking off in San Diego in 2025 for a reported $500 million expansion fee.
Messi, a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, is expected to be officially unveiled by Inter Miami CF on July 16 with reports of the presentation being broadcast during halftime of the Gold Cup Final.
Since announcing he was joining Inter Miami from PSG on June 7, the average get-in price for Inter Miami CF home matches the rest of this season increased from $15 to $230 (+1,398%) in just 48 hours, while away matches went up 374%, according to ticketing technology company Logitix.
“I don’t know how you could not characterize it as anything but positive for the league and sponsors of the league,” Wright said of Messi’s move to MLS. “It’s going to be great. It’s going to be tremendous and everybody is looking forward to it.”
Already serving as the title sponsor for the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge, AT&T 5G MLS Goal of the Year and AT&T Goal of the Matchday, AT&T’s role with the league expanded further following the start of its new 10-year, $2.5 billion global media rights deal with Apple which ushered in the “next generation” of the league and soccer in the U.S.
AT&T is the presenting sponsor of the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.
Now producing almost 1,000 matches each season including all MLS, MLS Next Pro and Leagues Cup matches on top of various studio shows in three languages, AT&T is “the backbone of MLS productions at this point,” according to Stevenson.
The partners will test various technologies at 2023 MLS All-Star in Washington, D.C. from July 15-19, including player cameras and referee cameras during the All-Star Skills Challenge on July 18 at Audi Field.
“There’s all the normal kind of marketing sponsorship benefits but in addition to that, they really are a technology and innovation partner with us which makes the long-term part of that (relationship) a lot more valuable because they see benefits just like we do,” Stevenson said.
The inaugural Leagues Cup pits all 47 clubs from Liga MX in Mexico and MLS in a World Cup-style tournament from July 21 to August 19 with berths for the Concacaf Champions Cup on the line for the top three finishers, who then compete for a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Begun in 2002, the Mex Tour brings the El Tri men’s and women’s national teams throughout the U.S. in a series of friendlies to engage their more than 60 million supporters in the country.
For AT&T, the soccer partnerships are a no-brainer not only to showcase their technology in connecting passionate fans, but to engage with younger, more diverse and tech-savvy demos.
MLS says roughly 30% of its fans are Hispanic or Latino, while the average age of an MLS supporter is 39.6 years, making it the youngest pro-sports fan base in North America.
“They're one of the companies that understood the power of this sport before a lot of others did and they’ve been committed to this sport for a long time,” Stevenson said. “They just understand that this sport is going to grow and they got in really early. They’re one of those sponsors when you think about our sport, you think about AT&T.
“They just integrate themselves into the sport in a way that’s pretty effective, so we’re thrilled that they’re our partner and every single time we don’t think they’ll innovate again, they’re constantly pushing to do new things in this sport which is helpful.”
