MLS will resume play before the World Cup final, hoping to further expand the league's popularity in the United States with the influence of stars such as Messi, Lewandowski, and Son.

To make way for the World Cup, Major League Soccer has been suspended since May 26. Now, even before the World Cup final has kicked off, MLS has already resumed play first, from Thursday to Friday night local time, and is using a large-scale advertising campaign to attract new fans. The advertisement began airing on television on Monday (US time) and includes Fox Sports, the holder of the World Cup US broadcasting rights. It is revealed that the production and placement cost of this advertisement exceeded 10 million US dollars (approximately 8.7 million euros). The advertisement prominently features star players in the league, including Inter Miami's Argentine star Messi, and South Korean forward Son, who plays for LAFC and partners with French goalkeeper Lloris.

Dan Courtemanche, MLS Executive Vice President of Communications, said: "The best player in the world, Messi, plays in MLS. Including him, we have 45 players who participated in this World Cup and received significant playing time. Therefore, it is not surprising that MLS has high-quality players." He added: "It is obviously incredible that someone can perform like this at 25, 30, or even 39 years old now. But we see Messi do it every week in MLS."

Courtemanche is pleased that Messi settled in Florida in the summer of 2023 and joined Beckham's club. He pointed out that although Beckham's arrival at the LA Galaxy in 2007 brought MLS great fame, Messi has taken the league to a whole new level. "Beckham's influence back then was already huge, and he is still an excellent MLS club owner, but Messi's appeal is extraordinary. He has more than 500 million followers on social media, which allows him to reach a significant portion of the global population. These people follow him, know him, and therefore know that he plays in MLS and performs well for Inter Miami."

However, MLS, founded after the 1994 World Cup, despite celebrating its 30th anniversary, still struggles to shake off the image of a "secondary league." This is mainly due to strict salary cap rules, which make it difficult for the league to sign top stars in their prime, and the still low viewership since broadcasting on Apple TV starting in 2023 – with an average of only 120,000 viewers per game last season.

Courtemanche emphasized: "Everyone has the right to different opinions, but the fact is that MLS has the best players in the world." He hopes this World Cup will "convince all fans, both new and old, to watch the games on TV, and more importantly, to go to the stadium to support their local clubs." The answer will be revealed tonight, US time, when four matches will kick off, including the Chicago Fire's match. This team has just successfully signed Polish forward Lewandowski. The MLS regular season will end on November 7.

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