Selling soccer in the United States has never been an easy proposition. Even as Major League Soccer celebrates the close of its 25th season with 26 clubs on the map and four more on the horizon, each market still presents its own set of challenges for reaching new fans and expanding the league’s footprint into the future.
In Los Angeles, much of the task has always been about selling the sport as well as the sizzle. The influence of the entertainment industry is omnipresent in LA, and many of the truly transcendent sports figures in Southern California have straddled the barrier between the sideline and the red carpet, with soccer as no exception.