FIFA president Gianni Infantino is bullish on the future of soccer in the United States.
Despite the underwhelming attendance across much of the FIFA Club World Cup and Concacaf Gold Cup this summer, Infantino praised the future of the game in North America on Sunday, saying it has the potential to become the “No. 1 sport here in America.”
Speaking at Fanatics Fest in New York City, Infantino shared his thoughts on the future of the game at the international and club level, touching on the growth to come from FIFA World Cup 2026 and through the continued rise of MLS.
“Three to four, maximum five years..., [soccer and MLS] will be top, top, top. One of the top leagues in the world, for sure,” Infantino said. “And I can tell you why — because now I’m here.”
While soccer’s following and MLS have continuously grown since the league’s launch following the 1994 World Cup, the league still trails behind the more traditionally American professional sports, such as the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, even with MLS having the third-highest average attendance per match, largely due to stadium size and ticket pricing.
Wrexham's Rise, Promotion and Relegation for U.S.
Meanwhile, Infantino was also asked about the success of Wrexham AFC, which has weaved its way past sports and into pop culture in the U.S., with the club’s back-to-back-to-back promotions highlighted in the FX television series “Welcome to Wrexham,” and buoyed on by celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
“This is one of the beauties of promotion and relegation,” Infantino said of Wrexham’s rise. “So, in soccer, unlike any other sport, surprises are happening, and the little one can beat the big one, right? And this rarely, rarely happens in other sports; 90 percent of the time, the stronger one wins. In soccer, it’s 70 percent of the time.”
Currently, there is no promotion and relegation in U.S. professional soccer at the MLS or USL levels; however, USL plans to introduce it, along with a new first division, “USL Premier,” to compete with MLS in 2027.
“This is something you can bring in this American culture as well, where you don’t have the concept of promotion and relegation,” he added. “There’s something interesting that I think has to be explored.”
Pay to Play Structure
As part of his sit-down chat with Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, Infantino also critiqued the “pay-to-play” model, which has made soccer a more expensive venture for many across the United States.
“For children, it must be free to play football,” he said. “You go to Europe or Africa, you can play football for free, you can play soccer for free. We need to bring this [to] the U.S. as well, and then you will see the talent will go to play soccer.”
In 2024, over three million children were registered to play soccer in the U.S., the highest number of all youth sports. However, according to a report from Jersey Watch, the cost of playing youth soccer can exceed $1,100 per year per player, a significant burden given current global economic realities.
Added Infantino: “This is what we’re changing now with the FIFA Club World Cup and the World Cup next year, is to show to young Americans that if you’re good and if you are talented, you don’t need to go to another sport, because through soccer there is a path for glory and a path for money as well.”
“Our job, as FIFA, is to convince the authorities in municipalities and cities to create the surfaces, the pitches, for children to play. And then you will find parents who bring them and play with them and train them.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘No. 1 Sport’—FIFA's Infantino Bullish on MLS, Promotion-Relegation and U.S. Soccer.