There is one thing that MLS, USL and NWSL (and the Canadian leagues) can offer soccer fans that the big international leagues can't and all the signs are that their USP chimes precisely with consumer preferences. I am talking about the ability to offer fans the chance to be there, to participate, to get together with other fans to have an experience not just be a passive consumer.

There have been a number of studies and thought pieces recently which have outlined that emerging generations (and the rest of us) want experiences in real life, rather than just consume digital, virtual, online or AI offerings.

Gary Vaynerchuk has a fascinating post about this. The key bit: We’re about to go into a barbell, one side of that barbell is extreme technology, AI, robots, weird stuff we’re not ready for yet. The other side is analog….Not a little bit analog, either. Extreme analog.

Sporting events. Live concerts. Running clubs. Hiking. Meditation resorts. Hotels. Restaurants. Experiences. Physical, not digital. Community. In many ways, we’re already going in this direction. It will only get bigger and bigger as technology keeps rising in usage.

I think he's right. And this is good news for North American soccer. We've seen it this summer with attendance at fan-fests and watch parties where instead of viewing games at home, fans have been gathering together to experience the games with others.

Yeah, you can go to a Premier League Fan Fest once or twice during the season if you want. But what the domestic leagues and clubs can offer is something no foreign league can match - community every week, real-life experiences and events that take people away from the screen and social media and create a space which is truly social. And the other bit of good news - people spend more when they are out at events rather than online. The smart clubs will double down on the IRL experience as much as they can. Don't just hire a social media coordinator - hire a social events coordinator.