SBJ Behind the Scenes: Taking on the Business of Soccer in L.A.

Big things are coming for the beautiful game in North America.

Key stakeholders gathered in L.A. this past week for SBJ’s inaugural Business of Soccer conference, which was produced in conjunction with sister company Leaders in Sport, and presented by MLS and Concacaf. The event came with just over 400 days until the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and with the debut of the FIFA Club World Cup coming this summer -- two global events that are expected to serve as milestones for the sport’s growth in the North America.

The impact of the World Cup on the sport in North America was a key topic discussed throughout the two-day event, but it goes further than just being about the business but also about the sport being a bigger part of North American culture. MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani touched on making soccer a bigger part of “kitchen table” discussions. Montagliani and Garber, as well as execs from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, also fielded questions on North America’s readiness to host such a massive, global sports event -- something that has been under heavy scrutiny of late.

Garber and myriad MLS team execs spoke about key issues facing MLS, such as an upcoming decision on whether to make a calendar switch more reflective of Western European leagues (Minnesota United investor Ben Grossman was in attendance, and his market -- along with the likes of Toronto, Montreal and others -- gets rather cold during winter months that would have MLS games with a revised schedule). With the USL making news about a promotion-relegation system, Garber also walked attendees through why such a system doesn’t make sense for a league like MLS.

Investment in and ownership of teams, both men’s and women’s clubs, was another key topic. Attendees heard from top power brokers on the subject, like LAFC’s Bennett Rosenthal (also a co-founder of Ares Management) and Navid Mahmoodzadegan, the co-founder of investment bank Moelis who recently led the sale of Angel City FC that resulted in a NWSL-record valuation of $250 million.

The explosion of women’s soccer led off the conference and was a consistent theme through the two days of content, as was where brands are finding success in the sport and what key technologies are bringing fans closer to the game.

• MLS’ Garber, Concacaf’s Montagliani eye bigger U.S. soccer conversation
• San Diego FC’s Tom Penn discusses prep for first season
• Soccer looks to stars, collaboration for growth
• Stats Perform unveils partnership with Concacaf
• Women’s soccer stakeholders discuss independence
• Looking at key investment trends in soccer
• MLS clubs seek SeatGeek for boosting automation for purchasing tickets
• Soccer leaders address political turmoil ahead of trinational World Cup

After Day 1 of the event, over 60 execs gathered for a private dinner at Spago by MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani. The cocktail hour held during a lovely Beverly Hills sunset featured delicious blinis and pork gougeres. Carlos, the legendary head bartender of Spago, kept the group well hydrated.

Before dinner, SBJ’s Abe Madkour welcomed guests and introduced Garber and Montagliani, who both gave brief remarks and pointed out a number of attendees from around the world who were attending the dinner. Over the three-course dinner, execs from across soccer, media influencers and leadership from MLS and Concacaf discussed the future of the business of soccer in North America.

Among those in attendance were FIFA’s Mattias Grafström, U.S. Soccer’s JT Batson, Audi North America’s Daniel Weissland, Concacaf’s Philippe Moggio, AEG’s Dan Beckerman, MLS' Gary Stevenson and Atlanta United’s Garth Lagerwey. We know we can’t list everyone, but among those also spotted were Optimum Sports’ Tom McGovern, 2026 NY/NJ Host Committee exec Kathy Carter, Apollo Global’s Reggie Love, Nashville SC’s Ian Ayre, Coca-Cola’s Eric Kacker, CBS Sports’ Jenny Chiu, former USWNT member Kelley O’Hara, Fox Sports’ Alexi Lalas and Monarch Collective’s Kara Nortman.

A number of execs took in a pair of Concacaf Nations League semifinal games on Thursday afternoon in the Pechanga Founders Club at SoFi Stadium. The first match saw the USMNT lose a nailbiter to Panama 1-0. Then, Mexico defeated Canada to reach the final. This was one of a number of trial runs for SoFi Stadium as a soccer host, with the L.A. venue set to host eight games during the 2026 World Cup.

Men In Blazers’ Roger Bennett made an appearance in the Pechanga Founders Club during Mexico-Canada. He was joined by Men in Blazers Managing Director Scott Debson. The two were seen chopping it up at various points with New Balance’s Andrew McGarty and Concacaf’s Heidi Pellerano.

Others in the club for the matches were IMG’s Hillary Mandel, Stats Perform’s Justin Einhorn and Dru Agency’s Uri Rosell.

• Longtime soccer play-by-play announcer Max Bretos, who now calls MLS games on Apple TV+, was the host for the conference and kept the energy going over the course of two days. He spoke about the rapid growth of MLS and harkened back to the huge impact that the 1994 World Cup had as well. But where was Bretos for the final of the 1999 Women’s World Cup: “I don’t know if anyone told you -- I got after it back in the day. So, I was at a Hollywood Hills party. And everyone, all these tragically hip L.A. people, were fixated on the screen and seeing Brandi Chastain, that incredible celebration that we all remember all these years later."
• AT&T’s Mark Wright, who leads sponsorship for one of MLS' longest-tenured sponsors, was asked on stage about whether he has real passion for soccer, and the St. Louis City season-ticket holder responded, “I’m not a phony. That’s right.”
• The execs hitting the road were also staying fit at Business of Soccer, and at 6:00am local time on both Wednesday and Thursday morning, the gym at the Marina Del Rey Marriott was packed with execs attending the conference (we see you Dan Courtemanche).
• One exec in the room getting a lot of love from on-stage speakers was Alan Rothenberg, who is now with Playfly Premier Partnerships, but is well-known in soccer circles for running U.S. Soccer, organizing the 1994 FIFA World Cup and 1999 Women’s World Cup and helping establish MLS. Rothenberg, an SBJ Champion of Sports Business in 2011, is such a thread of soccer’s success in the U.S. and his legacy was pointed out time and time again.
• Also in attendance was another Marla Messing, another SBJ Champion of Sports Business (2020) with deep ties to soccer.
• A group of longtime friends with ties to Mexican soccer, including TelevisaUnivision’s Marco Liceaga, 2026 World Cup Chief Tournament Officer for Mexico Jurgen Mainka, ESPN’s Fernando Palomo and Club Tigres President Mauricio Culebro Galván, were in good spirits at the hotel bar following El Tri’s 2-0 victory over Canada in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals.
• Audi of America’s Daniel Weissland took a 12-hour flight from Germany to make it back to L.A. for the event.
• Longtime sports exec Kathy Carter and Angel City’s Julie Uhrmann were very excited to see one another in the halls.
• Some familiar soccer industry faces in new places were hobnobbing at the hotel bar on Wednesday night. New Intersport soccer leads Rob Swain and Alfonso Alanis-Cue, fresh off the firm’s acquisition of boutique consultancy O Street Consulting, were introduced to Avenue Capital Group’s Gabby Roe, who just joined Marc Lasry’s venture capital firm from Legends. Longtime USL and MLS exec Court Jeske, now president of Echo’s soccer efforts in Oklahoma City, was also making the rounds in a gold Lakers jersey after attending that night’s game against the Nuggets. Others mixing at the bar included For Soccer’s John Guppy, AC&M Group’s Jaime Cardenas and Tigertail’s David Cipullo.
• DirecTV’s Nick Ammazzalorso was raving about his brand’s new shirt deal with MLS expansion club San Diego FC.
• Atlanta United CEO Garth Lagerwey was recounting his career path, going from Duke soccer player to a long stretch as a goalie in MLS then to Georgetown law school and then running a few MLS teams.
• Some of the best banter on stage, no surprise, came from two of the most colorful commentators in soccer -- Fox Sports’ Alexi Lalas and Apple TV’s Taylor Twellman.
• Among others seen chatting in the halls during the two days of the conference were Ticketmaster’s Clay Luter, Octagon’s Nuvia Guzman, MLS/SUM’s Gary Stevenson, Nielsen Sports’ Jon Stainer, San Diego FC’s Tom Penn, the Premier League’s Akash Jain and the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Ed Foster-Simeon.

A big thank you to all of the sponsors for the inaugural Business of Soccer event. And thank you to all of those who attended the event.

Look out for SBJ’s next event, the CAA World Congress of Sports, as the top industry stakeholders will gather in Nashville from April 22-23.