MLB Legend Mariano Rivera & LAFC Co-President Larry Freedman

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bloomberg Business of Sports

Episode: MLB Legend Mariano Rivera & LAFC Co-President Larry Freedman

Date: May 15, 2026
Hosts: Michael Barr, Vanessa Perdomo Maglion, Randall Williams

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Overview

This episode of Bloomberg Business of Sports dives into the intersections of sports business, culture, and growth, featuring exclusive interviews with legendary Yankee Mariano Rivera, LAFC Co-President and LA World Cup Host Committee Co-Chair Larry Freedman, and Tom Glick, CEO of Hometown Soccer Holdings. The discussions explore the Latino influence in sports, the evolving soccer landscape in the US as the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, and the commercial as well as cultural factors driving the business of sports today.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mariano Rivera: Legacy, Latino Influence & New Ventures

Segment: 04:02–14:48

• Receiving the Pionero Award

  • Rivera expresses deep gratitude for being honored by the Latinos in Sports community, viewing it as recognition for his role as a trailblazer.
    “Pioneero Award… that represent us as a Latino, as a people, you know, as competitive that we are, you know, for me, something special. I won’t take it for granted.”
    (Mariano Rivera, 04:26)

• Latino Culture’s Impact Across Sports

  • Rivera celebrates the growth of Latino representation in not just baseball, but basketball, soccer, and football, highlighting the passion and hard work characteristic of Latino athletes.
    “We needed [Latinos in Sports]. If the world doesn’t want to know, don’t know. Well, Latino sport will let the world know that we are people with passion and hard workers.”
    (Mariano Rivera, 06:48)

• World Baseball Classic & Globalization

  • Applauds the competitive surprise from teams like Italy; underscores baseball’s power to unite and uplift nations.
    “This baseball event that we just had was something special… Team Italy was something, you know, that we all were like, wow.”
    (Mariano Rivera, 08:33)

• Advancing Panama’s Competitiveness

  • Emphasizes focus, passion, and maximizing talent as keys for Panama to elevate its baseball presence.
    “We just have to be more focused in what we have to deliver, and at the end, just get it done.”
    (Mariano Rivera, 09:44)

• Diving into Entrepreneurship: Panamanian Hot Sauce

  • Rivera discusses his authentic Panamanian hot sauce line, inspired by his pitching style and heritage, bringing generational family recipes to market.
    “Bringing the heat for so many years into the mound… now I’m bringing the heat to your house, to your kitchen… this hot sauce is tremendous.”
    (Mariano Rivera, 10:14)
    “It's a five [on a scale of 1 to 5 for spice], but it’s not something that’s gonna burn your mouth. I want something nice, something professional, you know, my style.”
    (Mariano Rivera, 12:00)

• Yankees Outlook for 2026 Season

  • Rivera is optimistic about the Yankees’ chances to finally capture their 28th championship, highlighting strong pitching and the performance of young players.
    “If we can stay healthy to the end, we’re going to be champions.”
    (Mariano Rivera, 14:17)

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2. Soccer’s Transformational Moment in the US

Segments: 17:26–27:46 (Tom Glick); 33:04–44:29 (Larry Freedman)

A. Building the Soccer Ecosystem: Interview with Tom Glick, Hometown Soccer Holdings

• MLS Next Pro & Pathways to the Top

  • Explains MLS Next Pro as the essential “farm league,” creating a direct development path for young talent (18-22), internationals, and collegiate players. “These are players who are a year or six months or one weekend away from playing in the first team… there’s over 250 who have moved up to Major League Soccer since the league started.”
    (Tom Glick, 18:25)

• Elevating Player Development

  • Discusses integrating academies, college players, and young internationals; emphasizes pressure-cooking talent in game environments with live spectators. “Player development will be measured by how many are developed through this level… and if we’re producing players who can play elsewhere globally.”
    (Tom Glick, 21:00)

• Ambitions for US Soccer and MLS

  • Sees growth in both domestic quality and global exports, but wants strong, attractive home leagues. “The level of MLS is really, really strong and getting better every year.”
    (Tom Glick, 22:04)

• KKR Investment and Commercial Vision

  • Hometown Soccer Holdings, with MLS and KKR, aims to build local soccer infrastructure: fan-focused stadiums (6,000–8,000 seats), multi-use venues, modern fan and sponsor experiences. “What we’re building is a commercial engine… a place to be, playing games of consequence in front of fans… hosting 20–25 new clubs across the country.”
    (Tom Glick, 23:54, 25:49)

• 2026 World Cup: Anticipated Impact

  • Expects massive boost in overall interest and fandom, especially among newcomers, regardless of USMNT performance—which will have compounding effect on engagement and local club support. “The scale of it, the passion that comes out, it will be hard to ignore, and there'll be patriotism across but I think just a real appreciation and exposure for casual fans and new fans to the game.”
    (Tom Glick, 26:28)

• Storytelling & Media

  • Stresses the importance of documenting and sharing athletes’ journeys and behind-the-scenes stories to fuel ongoing engagement. “I think we've seen so many examples across all sports that learning about what these players go through… really interesting if it can be done and told in the right way.”
    (Tom Glick, 29:14)

B. World Cup Host City Perspective: Interview with Larry Freedman, LAFC & LA Host Committee

• Significance of 2026 World Cup for Los Angeles and MLS

  • Highlights how far US soccer has come since 1994, when the US hosted the World Cup with no top domestic league—fast-forward to today, with MLS boasting 30 teams and international talent. “The last time the US was involved in hosting a Men's World cup back in 94, there really wasn't a first division men's league... Fast forward 30 some odd years, MLS has 30 teams sending players to national teams.”
    (Larry Freedman, 33:17)

• Economic and Cultural Impact of Hosting

  • Emphasizes the financial windfall—over $500 million expected—including hotels, restaurants, entertainment, and a 39-day citywide celebration.
    “We like to think, you know, the economic impact here is going to be over a half a billion dollars… It’s really going to be a wonderful 39 days.”
    (Larry Freedman, 36:13)

• Strategies for Growing Soccer’s Fanbase

  • LA’s diverse soccer fans span international leagues—unique chance to convert viewers of Liga MX, European, and other leagues into local MLS/NWSL supporters. “With the wild and wonderful diversity in this market… there’s incredible opportunity to bring more people into the tent… the aggregate audience grows.”
    (Larry Freedman, 37:45)

• Connecting World Cup to Local Growth

  • LAFC and NWSL’s Angel City FC’s growth shows there’s still market room; World Cup star power (e.g., Argentina, South Korea captains playing for MLS teams) as tool to bridge fandom gaps. “When the captain of the defending champion Argentina is playing in the World cup… those guys play in mls. Maybe I should go to an MLS game.”
    (Larry Freedman, 39:34)

• Media and Community Engagement

  • Commitments to storytelling, local media, and in-person events that connect fans to local talent returning from the World Cup, building club loyalty. “We're going to make a big deal of the send off for players on our roster… we’ll be following them along the way… We are going to be doing some soccer celebrations around some matches in and around LA.”
    (Larry Freedman, 41:07)

• MLS & Host Committee Collaboration

  • Decade-long, coordinated partnership across club, league, and committee levels to maximize exposure, turnout, and soccer’s legacy post-2026. “We have been working together, you know, at the club level, the league level, the host committee level ever since because there’s such a natural fit.”
    (Larry Freedman, 42:56)

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Notable Quotes

• Mariano Rivera (on Latino influence):
  “Latino sport will let the world know that we are people with passion and hard workers.” (06:48)

• Mariano Rivera (on his hot sauce):
  “Now I'm bringing the heat to your house, to your kitchen. It's a great Panamanian sauce, habaneros, great selection of peppers... that's what we have put in this sauce.” (10:14)

• Tom Glick (on MLS Next Pro’s mission):
  “It will be how many players are being developed through this level of the game... and am I actually producing some players who can also go and play elsewhere globally?” (21:00)

• Larry Freedman (on hosting the World Cup):
  “The opening is a moment when all 48 teams... have complete hope and all dreams are alive. We think being at the focal point at the beginning is a real opportunity for this market.” (35:02)

• Larry Freedman (on LA soccer culture):
  “When we joined MLS, our audience grew, as did the Galaxy. We didn’t cannibalize their audience. It was one plus one was three. And then you add Angel City to the mix... the same thing happened.” (37:45)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Mariano Rivera Interview (Latino Legacy, MLB, Hot Sauce): 04:02 – 14:48
• Tom Glick (Hometown Soccer, Player Development, MLS Next Pro, KKR Investment): 17:26 – 29:55
• Larry Freedman (LA as World Cup Host, Economic Impact, Local Soccer Growth): 33:04 – 44:29

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Memorable Moments

• Mariano Rivera describing his transition from bringing "heat" to the mound to bottling it in hot sauce, with detailed flavor breakdowns and sincere pride.
• Tom Glick’s analogy comparing the growth trajectory of MLS to the NBA in its early days, offering hope for the league’s global aspirations.
• Larry Freedman’s emphasis on the opening match's significance over the final, sparking a unique perspective on economic and cultural impact.

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Conclusion

This episode illustrates how sports serve as both a financial engine and a cultural connector—from the growing Latino influence in American athletics to the mushrooming infrastructure and fan bases around soccer as the US gets set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The blend of legacy, commercial strategy, and grassroots engagement highlights the multifaceted growth of American sports industries.

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For more:

• Subscribe to the show on your podcast platform of choice
• Visit bloomberg.com for the Business of Sports newsletter and further insights

Transcript

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[Capital One Announcer]

Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts Radio News this is the business of sports.

[Capital One Sports Spotlight Host]

Our aim is always to leverage the

[Mariano Rivera]

global appeal of football.

[Tom Glick]

Having representation in college sports is even

[Larry Friedman]

more important than pro. 10% of Americans now claim soccer to

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

be their favorite sport.

[Capital One Announcer]

We estimate the the youth sports audience has $3 trillion in spending power.

[Mariano Rivera]

The nature of baseball is it is worldwide and it is global.

[Michael Barr]

I'm very happy for the WNBA and how the NBA has embraced them.

[Tom Glick]

Sportsbooks are not going anywhere and sports

[Windows 11 Pro Promoter]

betting is only growing.

[Capital One Sports Spotlight Host]

We have a super team running this

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

league and this league is here and

[Larry Friedman]

it's here to stay.

[Capital One Announcer]

Bloomberg Business of Sports From Bloomberg Radio

[Michael Barr]

this is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of Sports I'm Michael Barr.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

I'm Vanessa Perdomo Maglion.

[Randall Williams]

And I'm Randa Williams.

[Michael Barr]

Coming up today, we are talking a whole lot of soccer as we are less than one month away from the FIFA 2026 World Cup.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

We're going to chat with the LAFC co president Larry Friedman and speak to the CEO of Hometown Soccer Holdings.

[Randall Williams]

But first we are checking in with the baseball legend, five time World Series champion, World Series MVP and the only player ever to be unanimously inducted into the Baseball hall of Fame, Marian Rivera.

[Michael Barr]

Vanessa, lucky you, you spoke with him last week in Miami. Give us a little tease into the interview.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Okay, so this was really exciting for me as a Yankee fan to talk to a true legend. I spoke to him right before he was awarded the Pionaro Award at the Latinos in Sports event in Miami for being a trailblazing Latino in the world of sports. We talked about the influence of Latino culture in sports as well as his thoughts on this current group of Yankees.

[Michael Barr]

Let's take a listen into the conversation Vanessa had with five time World Series champion and hall of Famer Mariano Rivera.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Okay, so you're being honored with the Bayonero Award. Tell me what it means to you to be honored for your legacy, for what you did for Latinos in sports.

[Mariano Rivera]

For me is for me something special because I mean, I've been honored just for what I did, you know, which is for Latino is tremendous, especially with a Latino organization, you know.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Right.

[Mariano Rivera]

Pioneero Award is something that is there with the rest of the awards that I have received, you know, because I mean that, that represent us as a Latino, as a people, you know, as competitive that we are, you know, for me, something special. Yeah, you can, I won't take it for granted, you know, being away from the game. We're already 13 years this year, you know, receive a word, you know, this magnitude, this caliber is something special.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

And I thank God for that.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Do you think, oh, I already got my, all of my awards and did you even expect to win anymore at this point?

[Mariano Rivera]

Even when I was playing? Yeah. You know, Vanessa, I don't, I was expecting, I was just doing, you know, doing what I love to do, you know, compete. Not only competing, but, you know, doing it for the greatest organization there is in sport, period. You know, with the greatest fans there are in, in the sport, period. To me that means a lot. You know, doing it in New York and doing it the way that we did with style and classic, that was something special.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah, baseball is, you know, huge part of the Latino culture, you know, Latinos been dominating the MLB for a long time. But to have an organization that celebrates not just, you know, Latinos in baseball, but across all different sports and executives and sports and all of that, what do you think that says about the Latino influence in sports as a whole?

[Mariano Rivera]

Well, having an organization like Latino in sport, I mean, it's something that we needed. Thank God that they appear because, I mean, we need to assault all those people, all those Latinos, they have done in northern baseball, basketball, soccer, football, you name it, we there, we like the white rice all over. So, I mean, yes, being a Latino, this just. Just something special, you know. You know, as a Latino, we passionate, you know, for the sport that we love. You know, me, baseball, I was passionate. Still passionate. Just being retired still, you know, rushing the games and all that stuff, throwing the remote to the TV time to time, you know, but. But yes, I mean, the organization, no Latino sport organization, has done amazing job and we needed them. Like I said before, we needed them, you know, and thank God for them. I wish them the best and much work. You definitely need a lot of work on this, but just to bring out our talent and bring it to the world. If the world doesn't want to know, don't know. Well, Latino sport will let the world know that we are people with passionate and hard workers, you know, and thank God for Latino sport.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

That passion was really on display this summer with the World Baseball Classic. What did you think of the tournament?

[Mariano Rivera]

Oh, it was a great tournament. I mean, I was, I was, I was, I was happy with the results. Yeah, the tournament being in Venezuela, the one to stay in the mount the last, you know, celebrating. That was great. Yeah, that was great. I mean, they need something like that. They needed it as a country. They needed something, something positive, something good, you know, in the sport. Baseball had the opportunity and the power to connect people and feel, you know, different. And I was, I was happy for them.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah, we saw a lot of different teams, you know, become more competitive than they really ever have before. Everyone thought it was just going to be Japan, us kind of show or Dominicans, obviously. Always really strong. What do you think, like, the overall baseball landscape is across, like internationally?

[Mariano Rivera]

Well, international baseball all over, across international. We saw Team Italy.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Yeah, that was an interesting story.

[Mariano Rivera]

It was interesting. It was beautiful, man. I mean, I mean, again, you know, I mean, this, this, this baseball event that we just had was something special, you know, that above all things, you know, just playing the game and seeing all these teams competing the way they did, you Know, I mean, again, you know, Team Italy was something, you know, that we all were like, wow.

[Capital One Announcer]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

I was pushing them to go all the way, but, you know, it was. It was. It was nice. It was good to see them play the way they play.

[Capital One Announcer]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

You know, with the passion that they show. Yeah. So, I mean, I think that we're seeing a different sport, different level of competitive, and hopefully that continues.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah. What does Team Panama have to do to get more competitive?

[Mariano Rivera]

Well, I mean, we need to continue playing hard, you know, and give our best. I believe that if we give our best, we will be competitive the way we should be. So, I mean, definitely, we have the talent, we have the determination, the passion. No, we just have to be more focused in what we have to deliver.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

You know, and at the end, just get it done. Getting it done. Because we had the athletes.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah. Talking about Panama, you have a hot sauce coming out, which is something I really want to talk about now. Hot sauce is my passion. Okay. I have a whole drawer of my fridge dedicated. Whole section of my fridge dedicated. Different kinds of hot sauce. Tell me about. Tell me about your hot sauce.

[Mariano Rivera]

Oh, Vanessa, this hot sauce is something special, you know, most heat.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

Bringing the heat for so many years into the mound.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

You know, now I'm bringing the heat to your house, to your kitchen. You know, it's a great Panamanian sauce, habaneros, great selection of peppers, hot pepper. But, you know, the passion that we have as a country, the intensity that we have as a country, that's what we have put in this sauce, you know, and this hot sauce is tremendous. The decoder. Decoder is my passion. The one, number one, obviously, the quarter, the decor, which is also. And then this, the sinker. All those three hot sauces are amazing. That you must try. You must have to have in your house. Definitely. You have. Vanessa, you have.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Well, you.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

You spoke my language there. You said habaneros.

[Mariano Rivera]

Do you.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Anytime I see habanero, I'm.

[Mariano Rivera]

We speak in your language.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yes.

[Mariano Rivera]

You know, and this sauce is especially. Because it's authentic. Authenticity from. It has a recipe for 120 years since we started canal. Imagine that. All the Caribbean workers that came to Panama and bring that sauce, you know, in the Caribbean with them special. That's why most heat is something special, that you must have a home.

[Larry Friedman]

Okay.

[Mariano Rivera]

So, you know, having their. I mean, we. We're proud this house.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

It's not like we're doing something just to do. You know, I'm. I'm an owner and of also I'M a co founder of the company Eduardo Arango, which is here with me too. I mean though we both have done amazing job and I'm proud if I have to be proud. I'm really. Vanessa, I'm proud of these hot sauce because it's good.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah. Well, I love it. Okay, on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the spiciest, where does it rank?

[Mariano Rivera]

No, it's. It's a five.

[Windows 11 Pro Promoter]

It's good.

[Mariano Rivera]

It's good. It's not, it's not something we're gonna put like this. Vanessa, it's not something that. It's gonna burn your mouth. No, no, no. I want something. Something nice.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

Something professional, something, you know, my style. You know what I mean? I'm not a believers guy, a crazy guy or nice. Easy kill is even. Even, you know. So this hot sauce is just like that.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

You know, the hotter is the colder. You have to try.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Okay.

[Mariano Rivera]

The hardest is the color. And then the next one is the red one, the coral. And then the sinker is the other one which is. It's good combination. Good, Ms. Habanero. The red one is the red habanero, the green habanero. But the, the core, the quarter is mixed between the. The two.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Okay.

[Mariano Rivera]

That's the more spicy. Yeah, it's delicious. Oh, I mean, I'm telling you, I can, I cannot have it. And I'm a guy that I don't, I don't like to eat hot sauce. I put it in my seafood. I'm a crazy seafood eater. So I may put in my seafood and like this one is. It's all natural.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

You know, legit natural.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

Gray stuff.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

So I mean, you must again. So you. Okay, we're going to have this in. We're going to start this on the 15th, May 15th. Me, baseball in the city. We're going to have the opening there. So Anessa, you got to have this and tell. You got to try.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

I got to be there.

[Mariano Rivera]

You have to try it. Now we have something.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Oh, we have it here.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Okay, perfect. I love to hear it. I can't wait to try it. All right, now I. Obviously we have to talk a little bit of Yankees baseball.

[Mariano Rivera]

You got it. You got the.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Have to tell me how's the team going to do this?

[Mariano Rivera]

Yankees are doing well. It's for me, they're going to win all. You know, the Yankees have done amazing. Doing amazing job. You know what I like is the starting rotation. The guys are fishing with them. You know, I mean the heaters, me all these guys, I mean, they're doing their job. You know, it's a long season.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

Long season. Vanessa.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

And a lot of things can happen. So. But I'm happy with what I see now. The youngsters, the young guys are doing amazing job in the rotation.

[Capital One Announcer]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

You know, so for me that's, that's good. That's key.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah.

[Mariano Rivera]

Pitching is the key.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yes.

[Mariano Rivera]

And I think that we, we have a good patient. My prayers are, and my prayer is that they all stay healthy to the end. We can stay healthy to the end. We're going to be champions.

[Interviewer with Mariano Rivera]

Yeah. What do you think the reason is? Why has it been so hard to get ring 28? Why has it been so hard?

[Mariano Rivera]

Because it's not easy. That's what tells it's not easy. You know, you're competing with great teams, great players, great athletes, you know, out there that it's linked to the crack few times. You know, I believe this year is

[Randall Williams]

the one that was unanimous hall of Famer Mariano Rivera.

[Michael Barr]

Up next, we're talking soccer. That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of sports for Vanessa for Devolt Maglione. See, she's married now, so you have to add the Magneone part. And Randall Williams. I'm Michael Barr. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

[Capital One Announcer]

Brought to you by Capital One, as a founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports, Capital One is here to bring you closer to the athletes and teams you care about. And with checking accounts that have no fees or minimums, Capital One is here to handle your banking needs too. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about. In a good way. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.combank for details. Capital one NA member, FDIC.

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[Michael Barr]

This is the Bloomberg welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports. We explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

I'm Vanessa Perdomo Maglion.

[Randall Williams]

And I'm Randall Williams.

[Michael Barr]

We are talking about soccer because guess what, the FIFA World cup is less than a month away.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

In April of this year, investment firm KKR made a huge bet on soccer by investing in Major League Soccer's next pro level.

[Randall Williams]

The idea behind the investment is to accelerate MLS Next Pro in the overall development system in the US Here to

[Michael Barr]

talk about the new venture is Tom Glick, Chief executive officer of Hometown Soccer Holdings. Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of sports. Now with Vanessa and her strong soccer background and Randall and his very strong sports background and I know both of them are going to say like look, don't embarrass us when you ask this first question. So what I wanted because you've done so many things connected here, here. MLS Next Pro.

[Tom Glick]

Yes.

[Michael Barr]

And it was just established in 2022.

[Tom Glick]

That's right.

[Michael Barr]

And forgive me for putting it this way, is it like the farm club for mls?

[Tom Glick]

Michael that's exactly right. So these are the reserve players for LA Galaxy here, here in New York, nycfc, the New York Red Bull. And these are players who are generally 18 to 22 years old and they are a year or six months or one month or one weekend away from playing in the first team, you know, at City Field or Yankee Stadium and soon to be Etihad park here in New York or at Sports Illustrated Stadium. So these are really talented players. Since the league started, there's 250, more than 250 that have moved up to Major League Soccer. So it's really productive, really important for the sporting directors and the managers of each of those Major League Soccer clubs.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

It's really important. I mean this is the thing that MLS and the U.S. soccer system has been missing. Right Tom? Like this, this really deep rooted academy system really Deep rooted next level system to get the players ready for the, for the big leagues. Right?

[Tom Glick]

Absolutely right. And you know, in. I think one of the things that has been missed because these players have been playing generally in small stadiums or empty stadiums or training grounds is they haven't been noticed the way they could be if they were playing in front of big crowds. And they should be. And that's where we come in. But the player development has been incredible and it will get better as these players play with more pressure in front of fans, you know, who have a rooting interest. And that's part of, part of what we're doing. And the members of the squad have come from the elite academies. So these are young professionals who have earned a professional contract after coming through through the academy. Not, not all of them do. There's also some players from college drafted or undrafted free agents in these squads who are starting their professional career in next pro. And then you have some young internationals increasingly from Eastern and Western Europe, from Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America who are coming here at 18, 19 years old, starting their career here and then moving up. So really exciting mix of talent, but also fueling the U.S. men's National Team at the senior level and the under 21 level.

[Randall Williams]

That's what I was going to ask next. We're going to watch the national team compete here in just under 30 days. And I wonder, what impact do you think that MLS Next Pro is going to have long term? We've seen the last World Cup. There was the ESPN guy who was ranting about the system of which US Soccer is operating in and how it hasn't had as big of an impact as it could. And I wonder as you look long term, whether it be 5 to 10 years, 3 to 3 to 5 years, what impact do you hope MLS Next Pro has? And how will you define success on one level?

[Tom Glick]

If we think about player development, it will be how many players are being developed through this level of the game, through all of these three pathways that I was just describing. That's a real measure of success for the Major League Soccer clubs. For those sporting director, general managers and their owners, am I creating a succession plan, you know, for my central midfielder, my striker, my goalkeeper from that level, am I actually producing some players who can also go and play elsewhere globally? Could they play in the English Premier League, could they play in La Liga? And are we helping them in their progression?

[Randall Williams]

So let me cut in real quick. You mentioned those two leagues and I wonder what your perspective is on that in particular. Would the goal be for some of these players to stay in the mls and obviously the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga are considered to be upper echelon leagues globally. But is your goal to keep these players in the MLS so that the talent stays domestic instead of going international? And you know, with respect to Christian Pulisic, there are some who would say if he was here, soccer might be a bigger deal.

[Tom Glick]

Randall, it's a great question and I think a player is always going to find his or her level and want to be challenged in front of in the best, the biggest matches against the best players. MLS is still a relatively young league. It's 32 years old this year. I used to, I grew up in the Boston area just to show my age when, when I was a sixth grader, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were rookies and the NFL, or excuse me, the NBA was 32 years old like the MLS was 32 years old. Then you think about the run that the NBA has been on in the 80s and yeah, Michael Jordan in the 90s and the like. So if you go back five years, 10 years, 15 years in major League Soccer and you look at it from a distance, there's a real noticeable change, definitely in the stadiums and the fan support, which are incredible. But the level of play, the, the owners have continued to invest more and to create rules that allow them to invest more in younger players who are advancing their careers. And, and so the quality of play is getting better and better. You see players now choosing to come here to advance their career, not just to finish their career. And so, yes, there certainly will be players who will say, look, I'm capable of playing in Europe and I'd like to go do that. But the level of MLS is really, really strong and getting better every year.

[Michael Barr]

So you brought up about, you know, your age and you saw Magic Johnson as a rookie. I don't even want to bring up, I saw the Willis Reed game. It's like, you know, that's how much, much of a geezer I am here. Tom Glick, he is the CEO of Hometown Soccer Holdings. Which brings us to the next question. How Hometown Soccer holdings, your pitch. See what I did say I know things in soccer. How are you connected now when you brought in your venture with Major League Soccer and the investment firm kkr.

[Tom Glick]

Yeah. So we're really excited about the partnership we've created. Kkr World class private equity fund and investor in a whole host of business categories, but increasingly in sports media and entertainment. Super passionate, excited about building something great here in Major League Soccer and then Major League Soccer, who brings great player development skills, but also so they're part of our cap table and so fully aligned with us on building a great business. And what we're building is a commercial engine for the league so that these players that we're talking about can play in great new stadiums built for fans and built for sponsors that will be the beating heart of the downtown of the city that has them and the place to be and playing games of consequence in front of fans and have these fans be able to follow them, get excited. These players and these clubs belong to them. And, you know, our business will be tickets and premium seating and local and national sponsorship and food and beverage and merchandise and other live events. We'll be creating venues with municipalities that will host our soccer clubs, but also other events, other sports you think of. Any sport you play in a rectangle is going to work perfectly at our venues when the soccer team is on the road, live music festivals, corporate and private events. So it's, it's a really exciting venture. We're building it from the ground up. We'll be introducing, you know, 2025 new clubs across the country to markets that deserve to have their own club but don't yet have one. And we'll be working from a blank sheet of paper. So what we can do with, with the, the technology and, and the stuff systems, whether it be ticketing or food and beverage or how we communicate with our fans, we can do that with one single source and be really efficient and really productive and serve our fans and sponsors really well.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Right.

[Randall Williams]

We'd be remiss if we did not talk about the 2026 Men's World Cup.

[Larry Friedman]

Yeah.

[Randall Williams]

And I wonder, from your perspective, from someone who's in soccer every single day, what impact do you think the 2026 Men's World cup is, is going to have on US Soccer specifically?

[Tom Glick]

Well, first off, I hope our team does really well.

[Randall Williams]

How important do you think that is to the success of things?

[Tom Glick]

If we do really well, I mean, watch out. But I don't think that's a prerequisite. I think we all would like to see the team play well, the team get out of the group stage, win a knockout round match or two or more. And that would be a ton of fun.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

More than two would be incredible.

[Tom Glick]

It would be. But irregardless of how the team performs, because it is a knockout tournament. So this is not a league. Over many, many months, the presence of this tournament, I think, is going to surprise people. The scale of it the passion that comes out, it will be hard to ignore it, and there'll be patriotism across, but I think just a real appreciation and exposure for casual fans and new fans to the game. And I think therein lies a big part of the opportunity is new residents of the US who become fans become interested in the game. And I think there's an opportunity for us to then further engage them and to get them to be more and more avid fans. And those who are already excited to do the same thing, which is to how do we get them even more involved and more excited? And that's part of the our opportunity with hometown soccer holdings and MLS Next Pro is to have a local professional club right in their city. If I can drive 10 minutes, go downtown and go to a professional game, see some of the best young talent in the country right in my city in the Midwest or in the Southeast or here in the Northeast or the Mountain west, that's something that needs to happen, and that's what we're building towards.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

And Tom, what. What are the venues like, specifications of those going to look like? Is it 5,000, you know, seat venues kind of thing?

[Tom Glick]

Most of our venues will be between 6 and 8,000. And we'll have all of the, the amenities and the comforts that you would expect at a major league or a larger stadium. So suites and tunnel clubs and field club seats and great scoreboards and, you know, standing areas for supporters and, you know, a real atmosphere but intimate and right sized for those cities. If it's a city of a half a million people, city of 6, 700,000 people, a 6 to 8,000 seat stadium is perfect and will create the right experience for that. And it comes at a lower ticket price. And so as we create partnerships with municipalities, it becomes, you know, more, more achievable to figure out the math for that.

[Michael Barr]

See, old man Barr knows what jersey he wants. Pa Pele. Cosmos, baby.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Oh, man.

[Randall Williams]

Real quick, before you go, I want to ask about storytelling. One of the things we've seen around sports in particular is we see Netflix, we see hbo, Max. We see Amazon do storytelling right after these moments are created. And there's the U.S. men's National Soccer Team. I believe it's on HBO, Max, but don't quote me. How important is storytelling in the months and the weeks, weeks, either during or following the World cup, to the success of this entire event? To have something that people who are like, oh, this is what they were going through. Do you think that's important?

[Tom Glick]

I think so. I think so. I think we've seen so many examples across all sports that learning about what these players go through, what the teams go through, the coaches, fans, parents, really, really interesting if it can be done and told in the right way. And There will be 48 clubs and 24 players on each of these 48 clubs and teams, all within their families and all with their own stories. So I'm really excited to follow the tournament, but also to follow the athletes and the teams and the drama and then to hear about what was going on after the fact. I think it's an incredible opportunity.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

That was CEO of Hometown Soccer Holdings, Tom Glick.

[Randall Williams]

Up next, we are sticking with soccer and talking about the biggest sporting event ever, the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

[Michael Barr]

That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. I'm Michael Barr with Vanessa Perdomo Maglione and Randa Williams. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports, Bloomberg Radio around the world

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[Michael Barr]

Thank you. Thank you for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

I'm Vanessa Perdomo Maglion.

[Randall Williams]

And I'm Randall Williams.

[Michael Barr]

Vanessa, we know you have been paying close attention to the World cup and you recently spoke with the LAFC Co President Larry Friedman.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

He's also the co chair of the LA host committee for the World Cup. So we spoke about how LA is getting ready to host the U.S. men's National Team and how LAFC is preparing for the world's attention to be on soccer this summer.

[Randall Williams]

Let's take a listen to Vanessa's interview with LAFC President Larry Friedman.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

It is such an exciting time for soccer in the US and la. Specifically for you being president of an MLS team and a co chair of the LA host committee. How would you describe this time for this city and for soccer?

[Larry Friedman]

It is like no other. The last time the US Was involved in hosting a Men's World cup back in 94, there really wasn't a first division men's league. So you didn't have teams that were sending players off to participate in that World Cup. And you fast forward 30 some odd years to now MLS has 30 teams that are sending players to their national teams and many of those players are on teams that qualified for this tournament. And it's a really exciting time to showcase how our league is developed and the level of player and level of play has evolved and improved. And then for Los Angeles, hosting the U.S. men's National Team's opening game at SOFI Stadium. SOFI Stadium hosting eight matches across the tournament. And hopefully we're going to have travelers from all over the world doing what we at the host committee are suggesting which is start your World cup journey in Southern California. So it is really, really exciting.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Not a bad place to start your World cup journey. I don't think

[Tom Glick]

so.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Like you mentioned the U.S. you know the U.S. are playing their first game there. They have two games there and they'll be around Southern California rights, their home base. What are the expectations for you having them in market and how big of an impact do you think that has for the for the region?

[Larry Friedman]

I think it's a huge impact. When we set out as a host committee to bid on hosting games, we were focused on the opening more so than the final because the opening is a moment when all 48 teams, all 48 countries have complete hope and all dreams are alive. Right. By the time you get to the final, you have two countries, two teams left participating. So we think that being at the focal point at the beginning is really an incredible opportunity for this market, for this region and ties into the start your World cup journey here. Why? Because this is where it's starting.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

That's really interesting. Do you think that there's going to be a bigger economic impact for having the start of the tournament versus the end? That ties into everything, like you were saying, having all of the teams and all of the excitement.

[Larry Friedman]

Well, I think it's hard to pick that one apart because out In New York, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium, they are hosting a full slate of games as well. So it's hard to, you know, isolate the impact of the final by itself as opposed to the full impact of the slate of games that are being hosted out there versus the one game here. Get pulling that out of, you know, if it was standalone versus the eight matches that we have. But we like to think, you know, the economic impact here is going to be over a half a billion dollars and that is really significant. From hotel room nights, various communities stepping up and doing, you know, watch parties and events in and around the matches, and people going to restaurants, people going to theme parks, people going to concerts at other venues during that time period, it's really going to be a wonderful 39 days here in Southern California.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

LA is already a pretty big soccer market. Right. There's a lot of soccer fans that are already there. So how much bigger do you think it could actually get? Like, who are you targeting in order to. To grow the game, even if it's already pretty big there?

[Larry Friedman]

Sure. So we like to say, as do other markets, but we think we're right that, you know, L A is the home of soccer in this country. You have three first division teams participating. You've got the LA Galaxy, you've got Angel City Football Club and nwsl, and you've got lafc. And the beauty of it is, when we joined mls, our audience grew, as did the Galaxy. We didn't cannibalize their audience. It was one plus one was three. And then you add Angel City to the mix. Who came after we did, and the same thing happened, you know, new fans, new audience, the aggregate audience grows. And what we think the real opportunity is with the wild and wonderful diversity in this market, which is 12 or 15 million people, depending on where you draw the circle for the dma, there's incredible opportunity to bring more people into the tent. You know, to be use a specific example, there is a large, large population in Los Angeles that follows Liga Max down in Mexico, Cruz Azul, Club Leon, Monterey Club America, Chivas Guadalajara. And there's ample opportunity to convert some of those folks into MLS fans. You know, we all support more than one team, often more than one team in the same sport. Maybe they play in different leagues, maybe they play in the same league. But there's so many football fans in this market who are watching the Bundesliga in Germany, they're watching Syria in Italy, they're watching the Premier League, they're watching Liga Max, they're watching football all over the world. And believe it or not, they haven't yet tuned in or shown up for an MLS match. And so this is an opportunity when the captain of the defending champion Argentina is playing in the World cup or the captain of the South Korean national team is playing in the World cup for people to connect the dots that, hey, wait a minute, those guys play in mls. Maybe I should go to an MLS game when LAFC is in Austin, Texas or Chicago, Illinois or Nashville, Tennessee or I should go see Inner Miami play in Columbus, Ohio.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

So it's interesting because it's definitely something that the women's side struggled with for a little bit of time right before the NWSL really kicked off in the way that it is now extremely popular. But for a long time when the women were, you know, winning all of these things, they didn't always come back to the women's league that was, you know, in, in the US and they couldn't connect those dots. So how are you trying to connect those dots to make sure that people know, yes, that sun is playing on the LAFC and that, you know, people do come back to the MLS after, you know, after the World cup.

[Larry Friedman]

We will be telling the story early and often. You know, we're going to make a big deal of the send off for players on our roster in addition to sunny who are going off to play for their national teams. Example, you know, Matthew Chaunier, one of our midfielders will be on the Canadian national team, you know, another host country participating in this tournament and we will be following them along the way. We will be working with local media to make sure that those stories are being told, those players are being followed and we're going to get out in the community and we are going to be doing some soccer celebrations around some matches in and around LA where we go and meet the people where they are and celebrate the beautiful game at the same time. It gives us an opportunity to tell a story. When we're at an event that's built around a Mexico Korea match in the group stage, it's very easy to say, hey, you see number seven? That's our guy and you should come to BMO Stadium to see him in three weeks or four weeks.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

Absolutely. Tell me a little bit about your, you know, your seats on both the host committee and in for lafc, working for both sides. And I could, I imagine you have a lot of insight to how both are working together at the same time. Tell us a little bit about how the host committee works with the mls, works with LAFC to, you know, ba you know, holistic sort of approach to growing the game of soccer in the U.S. sure.

[Larry Friedman]

I think there is cool. There has been coordination and collaboration. This is a project that we have been working on since 2017, give or take. Right. The original bid goes in with the U.S. mexico and Canada to be the, the, you know, co hosts of a World Cup. We get awarded the bid in 2018 and we've been working together, you know, at the club level, the league level, the host committee level ever since because there's such a natural fit. This is a global football tournament. We have 30 teams in 30 markets that have shown support and love for the game. And you have fans that are the most likely candidates to participate in some form or fashion. Whether it's in soccer celebrations, it's official fan fests, it's buying tickets to go to games, whatever form that participation takes. You know, the, the most natural place to start is to turn to the club level fan bases and say, are you interested? Are you in?

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

That was LAFC president Larry Friedman.

[Michael Barr]

That's it. That's the show. It went by so quick. That's it for the day. Thank you for joining us. Tune in again next week for the latest on the stories moving big old money in the world of sports.

[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

And don't forget to catch our podcast on all your podcast platforms and go to bloomberg.com to subscribe to the Bloomberg Business of Sports newsletter to stay up to date on all our juicy insights.

[Michael Barr]

You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports, Bloomberg Radio around the world.

[Randall Williams]

But stay with us. Today's top stories and global business headlines are coming up. Right now

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[Vanessa Perdomo Maglion]

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