IN THIS ISSUE
📈 Sponsor Pathway: Reach 10,000 soccer obsessives
⚽️ Soccer Jobs: Throw your hat in the ring
🗣️ Industry Insight: The World Cup was easy
🎙️ Extra Extra: A broadcast legend joins Netflix
REACH 10,000 READERS
Every Wednesday, this newsletter lands in front of almost 10,000 people who are part of the American soccer industry.
Our subscribers include employees who work at 29 of 30 MLS clubs, 14 of 16 NWSL clubs, 40+ USL clubs, as well as U.S. Soccer, FIFA, the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, ESPN, CBS, DAZN, NBC, and hundreds of other clubs and companies impacting the soccer industry in America.
Readers open each issue at a 68% clip - and you can now reach them every week.
We've opened up a handful of ad spots:
Presenting Sponsor: Banner placement at the very top of the email
Featured Job: Your role at the top of the jobs section with your logo, a short write-up, and a direct apply link
Social Amplification: A featured job placement, plus posts on my LinkedIn and X (40k combined followers)
See options and pricing here →
And if you want to know more, drop me a line: [email protected]
-Kyle Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO
NEW SOCCER JOBS
There are some iiiiinteresting new roles this week, soccer friends.
Director, Creators - MLS
VP, Content Strategy - NWSL
Director, Ticket Sales - LAFC
First Team Scout - San Diego FC
Sr Manager, Paid Media - LA Galaxy
SVP, Growth Marketing - San Diego FC
Chief Revenue Officer - Angel City FC
Digital Marketing Analyst - LA Galaxy
Director of Performance - Chattanooga FC
Director, Communications - Columbus NWSL
Director, Partnership Sales - D.C. United
Executive Creative Director - Chicago Fire
Senior Director, Revenue - Carolina Core FC
Senior Manager, Ticket Sales - Charlotte FC
Senior Manager, Strategy & Operations - Gotham FC
Director, Donor Experiences & Hospitality - U.S. Soccer Federation
Senior Performance Coach, Women's Youth National Teams - U.S. Soccer Federation
⚽️ CAREER TIP: WHAT COMES NEXT
The World Cup was easy.
It was one massive, obvious global event that nobody could miss.
Brands piled in.
Campaigns, content, creators, apparel, watch parties, and soccer-adjacent programming all over the country (and around the world).
For a few months, it seemed like everyone had a soccer strategy, because the moment was impossible to ignore.
The real test is what comes next…
Coming off the World Cup, the sport is seeing a genuine uptick: Interest, viewership, and awareness are all up.
But there's no single obvious moment to plug into anymore, which changes the entire game.
When there's one giant event, everyone knows what to do.
You show up, you activate, you ride the wave.
When the wave settles, the question gets a lot harder.
What's your actual approach to the sport, long-term?
THE PROBLEM WITH TOO MANY OPTIONS
Here's the part most people don't expect.
The challenge after the World Cup isn't a shortage of ways to engage with soccer.
It's the opposite.
There's no shortage of entry points.
USL
MLS
NWSL
Liga MX
Athletes
Creators
Youth soccer
Tournaments
National teams
European leagues
South American leagues
Etc.
And that abundance is exactly the problem.
Without a clear answer to who you want to reach and what you're trying to achieve, you end up scattered across multiple properties with no real strategy behind any of them.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR THE INDUSTRY
This is the moment that separates the organizations and brands that were chasing a trend from the ones building something durable.
The World Cup rewarded showing up.
What comes next rewards clarity.
The players in this industry who thrive over the next few years will be the ones who can answer three questions with real precision:
Who exactly are we trying to reach?
What are we actually trying to achieve?
Which mix of properties and platforms gets us there?
That kind of strategic clarity is becoming one of the most valuable things in the entire industry.
Because the attention is here. The audience is here. The hard part is knowing what to do with it.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
The easy phase of soccer's growth was riding an obvious moment.
The next phase is building something that lasts after that moment fades.
👉 This week, watch how different clubs, leagues, and brands are approaching the sport now that the World Cup is over.
Notice who has a clear, focused strategy and who's just slapping their logo on soccer.
Riding the wave was simple.
Building something that lasts is where the real opportunity is.
-Kyle Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO
ICYMI: MUST-READ ARTICLES
📰 Extra! Extra! Here are a few of the latest soccer industry tidbits to be sure you’re up to speed this week:
Netflix names Andrés Cantor as the first voice of its 2027 Women's World Cup coverage [via The Hollywood Reporter] - The streamer's first hire on a two-tournament, two-language rights package is Spanish-language play-by-play, starting with the Final Draw from Rio on December 11.
Peyton Miller named MLS Player of the Matchday at 18, days after his first USMNT call-up [via Boston Globe] - Three of the 13 uncapped players Pochettino called in — Miller, Cavan Sullivan and Julian Hall — scored in MLS the weekend camp opened in Atlanta.
Nashville SC is the first club to clinch a 2026 MLS playoff spot [via The Tennessean / Yahoo Sports] - The only MLS team still unbeaten at home this season has taken 37 of 39 possible points at GEODIS Park.
Christian Pulisic scores his first goal of the season in his first start under Ruben Amorim [via CBS Sports] - A goal against Lecce and an assist the week before, in his first two appearances back from the injury he carried out of the World Cup.
Denis Bouanga passes Carlos Vela as LAFC's all-time leading scorer [via Yahoo Sports] - Twenty-four hours later Messi hit 20 goals for a third straight season — and the only other player ever to do that in MLS is Bouanga.
ALSO…
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SEE YOU SOON, SOCCER FRIENDS
