“I am confident that the new solutions will bring about some significant and important changes. But we still have a lot of work to do before officially adopting,” MLS CEO Todd Durbin told the American press, after a meeting on February 28 between the tournament’s executive board and MLS club owners . According to The Athletic : “This is a very important meeting, when the MLS evaluates the huge impact that Messi has brought, which has quickly changed the tournament’s brand globally.”
Messi (middle) has quickly changed the brand of MLS globally
Mr. Don Garber (left), MLS Commissioner, and two co-owners of Inter Miami Club, Jorge Mas (center) and Jose Mas
Before Messi joined Inter Miami Club just 1 year, MLS signed a historic agreement with technology giant Apple worth up to 2.5 billion USD within 10 years. Thereby, Apple will have exclusive rights to live MLS matches on the Apple TV platform. This deal is expected to take several years to achieve the effect Apple wants.
“However, in his first year, Messi changed the entire MLS tournament in every aspect. I went to watch the match between Charlotte FC and New York City FC (February 25). This match did not include Messi. , but attracted nearly 65,000 spectators. This shows that not only matches with Messi, but also matches without this famous player still attract spectators to the stadium.
I think MLS has changed a lot. Therefore, we also have to change previous regulations to suit current developments. In particular, the effects brought by Messi are something that must be recognized,” MLS Commissioner, Mr. Don Garber, recently expressed when talking to the American press.
“In fact, at first I did not appreciate the power and impact that Messi had, to be able to bring immediate effects. Therefore, I was shocked when I saw what Messi brought. for the MLS tournament, and for everything related to it,” Mr. Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, shared recently after watching the match Inter Miami won against Real Salt Lake with a score of 2- 0 on February 22, opening of the 2024 MLS season.
Mr. Eddy Cue
Messi has helped Apple TV increase its subscriptions tremendously. In just the first game (July 2023), there were 110,000 new subscribers. Apple has not yet announced the specific number of subscribers for the 2023 season and the beginning of the 2024 season on the MLS Season Pass program. But according to Sports Business Journal (USA) magazine, that number has reached more than 2 million subscribers.
“These are key factors for MLS to discuss with club owners, thereby allowing increased financial investment capacity, changing transfer laws to help clubs recruit more top stars. “The initiative aims to improve the development of the tournament. These plans can soon be approved and applied from June this year,” The Athletic assessed.
Messi joined Inter Miami from July 2023 to present
The matches in which this famous player competes always attract famous figures in the American entertainment and sports industry to watch
“The MLS Committee, comprised of club owners and executives, has considered changes to player transfer rules, aimed at further improving the competition of the league, increasing spectators to the stadium, increasing sponsorship revenue and all other factors…
This is also to anticipate an unprecedented time in the history of soccer in North America, with a series of major tournaments about to take place here. Including the Copa America tournament taking place this summer, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, the 2026 World Cup (jointly hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada) and the 2027 Women’s Soccer World Cup, which may also be hosted by the US. and Mexico will win the right to host in the near future,” The Athletic emphasized.
