MLS, US Soccer, IMG Announce Partnership

MLS and US Soccer’s expansion into global markets just got a bit easier on Wednesday. The two organizations announced that they have formed a joint partnership with IMG to market their media rights and global brand licensing.

Although exact terms were not announced, the deal is an eight-year deal that will last through 2022.

This is not the first partnership between MLS and US Soccer. Long tied since the MLS’ formation in 1994, US Soccer and MLS have long been partners in developing both club football and the National Team. This partnership was recently brought up by MLS Commissioner when criticizing U.S. Men’s National Team Coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

IMG is a multi-billion dollar company that specializes in events and media licensing.They were just recently by the William Morris Endeavor Talent Agency for $2.2 billion dollars. WME currently represents the NFL among many other sporting outfits.

MLS and US Soccer fans may know IMG better through the IMG Academy. Since 1999, the IMG Academy has become a factory for developing quality MLS and US Soccer players. Under the program “Project 2010,” the IMG Academy was used as a mechanism to develop players with the aim of winning the 2010 World Cup.

Despite Project 2010 no longer being in existence, the IMG Academy is still used to house U.S. U-17 residency program as well as provide the training grounds for Generation Adidas.

In addition to MLS and U.S. Men’s Soccer, IMG will also help promote U.S. Women’s Soccer through mediums like gaming, television, and digital rights. This deal does include the three MLS clubs that are currently based in Canada (Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps) but does not include the Canadian Men’s and Women’s National Team.

Also unclear is if this deal will include the U.S. Open Cup, which is run by U.S. Soccer and MLS participate in, and the NWSL, the North American women’s domestic club league which is sponsored by U.S. Soccer.

One particular point that is important to note is that this does not affect the media rights of MLS, U.S. Soccer here in the United States and Canada. The rights to MLS and U.S. Soccer matches were already picked up by ESPN, Fox, and Univision in a landmark deal earlier this year.

In Canada, TSN is currently in the middle of a six-year deal with MLS to have exclusive rights to their coverage. RDS in Canada provides French language coverage in Canada, mostly for the Montreal Impact.

This is a win-win deal for MLS and U.S. Soccer. In order to expand the league’s global reach, they need to gain exposure in markets like Europe, South America, and in particular Asia. Being able to expand one’s reach into these areas will at least give footballers and fans the idea that North America is a viable footballing option.

The U.S. Women’s soccer coverage is perhaps the most interesting nugget to this deal. With the game expanding at a rapid pace and with the U.S. Women’s soccer team more likely to achieve World Cup success in the next couple of years, this could greatly benefit the National Team and in particular the NWSL.

The one drawback might be for the Open Cup. Although it would be unreasonable to expect a country like England to show a first U.S. Open Cup match, having the final being broadcast internationally could benefit U.S. Soccer.

The perception among many not from the United States is that Americans do not understand how the game works, with things like promotion/relegation and a lack of a cup competition being used as examples. U.S. Soccer owns the rights to the Open Cup so it is puzzling that they are not effectively marketing these matches. An Open Cup final being shown in Europe could throw some of the misconceptions out the window.

So what do you think of this deal? Does this benefit MLS and Women’s Soccer?