By Rasheed Adewuyi, New York
Major League Soccer (MLS) has achieved a significant milestone by being ranked as the sixth most-watched football league worldwide in 2025, according to data compiled by SportPreferred. This positions MLS ahead of traditional football powerhouses such as Brazil’s Série A, Mexico’s Liga MX, and Portugal’s Primeira Liga.
The league’s ascent in global viewership is attributed to several key factors. Notably, the arrival of international superstars like Lionel Messi and Heung-Min Son has played a pivotal role. Messi, who joined Inter Miami in July 2023, has led MLS jersey sales for three consecutive years. Son’s move to LAFC in August 2025 resulted in a 16% increase in the team’s away game attendance.
In terms of attendance, the 2025 MLS season recorded over 11.2 million fans, marking the second-highest in the league’s history. The average attendance per match approached 22,000, surpassing figures from several European leagues.
Television viewership has also seen a substantial uptick. Live match broadcasts in 2025 averaged 3.7 million viewers weekly, reflecting a 29% increase from the previous year.
The top five leagues in the global viewership rankings remain the English Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, and France’s Ligue 1.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to be hosted in North America, MLS is poised for further growth in both domestic and international markets.
This article is based on data and reports from SportPreferred and AS USA.
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