When it comes to sports, North America has long gone its own way. Shrugging off the kind of sports imported to the country, in their place rose gridiron football and baseball. Now, the North American sports market is quite firmly dominated by the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. On the world stage, each of these stands as the biggest money league that attracts the vast majority of the globe’s top talents.
The MLS isn’t the top division of soccer, nor does it function like the majority of other professional soccer leagues in the world. Still, it’s been growing in popularity in Canada and the US. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming, we look into soccer fandom across North America and how fans are engaging with the sport beyond direct participation.
MLS on the Rise, and Not Just Due to Messi
As a delve into the perceived “Messi Effect” in this article from Sportico.com shows, the MLS has been growing. Average attendance has grown by four percent when you exclude Inter Miami games, both home and away, with 17 of the other 29 clubs seeing one percent or more increases in game-day attendances.
These figures are backed up by those from the MLS, which hailed a total attendance record in 2014. The 11 million fans by October 7 in the 2024 season surpassed the 2023 record by around 200 fans, with 16 matches left to go, too.
At the close of last season, MLS.com reported that the combined fan count from the regular season and playoffs up to the Conference Finals made the league the second-most attended league in the world. There are some natural caveats to this, of course, such as the average size of stadiums and that the MLS has 30 teams compared to the more commonplace 20.
Finding More Ways to Engage with the Sport
Being a fan of a sport in the modern age goes well beyond the live experience. Fans seek digital experiences to supplement the real thing. Seeing the demand and options made to meet that demand in North America, it’s clear that soccer is becoming more and more sought-after in this space.
You only have to look as far as the highest-ranking casino platforms in Canada to see the efforts of going above and beyond to integrate soccer. Those who read this post from Bonus.ca, would find a that one of their high-ranking platforms, PlayOJO, is offering 100 free spins without any wagering requirements whatsoever. Here, you’ll also get to play Football Blitz Top Card or Super Trunfo Futebol. It’s a newly invented live casino game that taps into traditional sports betting in a gamified way.
Other casinos on this list also have football-themed games, such as 11 Champions at LeoVegas or Football Freestyler at Casino Days. Through these games, the appeal of engaging with the sport broadens even further, across diverse forms of entertainment.
Of course, there are also the simulation games. Football Manager has long been the epitome of in-depth digital football experiences. Back in 2014, Sports Interactive cited Europe and US sales hitting 790,000 copies, noting North American markets as important over ten years ago. For Football Manager 2024, the developer announced the game surpassing 14 million worldwide. North American fans will have played a big part in this surge.
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup edges closer, Canada and the US look to be in a very good place in regard to the soccer fandom.
