Major League Soccer announced midseason attendance milestones for the 2024 season with the league on track for another record-breaking year.
Here are the key figures highlighted by MLS in a release:
The league attributed three factors behind the numbers mentioned above: consistently in Saturday night match scheduling, excitement in North America for the sport and the “Lionel Messi Effect.”
MLS highlighted two Inter Miami matches for total attendance numbers:
The match at Arrowhead Stadium was the fourth-largest standalone crowd in the league’s history. Both attendances are club records for Sporting KC and the Revolution. There’s no doubt Messi has brought a wave of new eyeballs onto Inter Miami and MLS, but the key is retaining those fans and making them lifelong supporters of a team and the league. Messi’s time is coming to an end, and he even went as far to name Inter Miami as the final club he’ll play for in his historic career. But, the league must make sure it does everything it can to maximize reach while he’s playing weekly in the States.
Interest in the league will continue to build as Copa America transpires leading into the MLS All-Star Game on July 24. After that, Inter Miami begins its defense of the Leagues Cup trophy.