MLS: Reflections on the League’s Appeal to the Mexican-American Population in Light of the Current Immigration Debate

Many Americans dismiss professional soccer (nee football) as a foreign game, number one world-wide, but certainly lesser in popularity than baseball, basketball, and American football here in the States. While soccer enthusiasts suggest that the success of the Mia Hamm led campaign of the women’s team and the ever-increasing youth soccer programs are breeding fans of “the beautiful game,” domestically, the collapse of the women’s league and the lack of major fan draws as compared to the MLB, NBA, and NFL, would suggest otherwise. Some have speculated that the Major League Soccer (MLS) fan base in the U.S. can be found in the recent and current immigrant populations. If that is the case, then what possible effects could be felt if the House or Senate bills regarding immigration are passed, particularly from Mexicans in the United States?

The question is not meant, by any means, to suggest a large portion of potential supporters of MLS are illegal immigrants, but that anti-immigration measures that most certainly will have a disparate impact on Mexicans living in this country may alienate a potentially large (legal or otherwise) fan base from supporting an “American” team.

According to ardent futbol supporters that I know (I cannot claim such faith), it is difficult to support the domestic professionals because of, in their words, the lack of quality product. Their focus goes to clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Juventus, and Arsenal. Similarly, according to many like Andrea Canales who covers MLS and collegiate soccer for ESPN (Y ahora que?, ESPNsoccernet, March 6, 2006), many Mexican-Americans and Mexican nationals living in the U.S., support teams from the Mexican league (MFL), with Canales going so far as to describe the Mexican community’s feelings toward MLS as “disdain”. However, what is to say that recent moves with Chivas USA (an American sister-club established by a Mexican one) and the Houston franchise (changed name under pressure from the Mexican community that the name was offensive) have not worked to engage the Mexican population to adopt an American product like Irish emigrants in the UK support Celtic F.C.?

At least one survey, referred to on the 2002 FIFA World Cup Site, puts Hispanics as forty percent of MLS fans (this author could not locate a survey specifically directed to Mexicans, the largest Hispanic population in the U.S.). If this figure is correct, or if this figure could be realized in the near future (a critique of the MLS has been in banking on “future” fan bases nurtured on youth soccer), should MLS executives be concerned about how our government may be treating immigrants?

In his paper on “The Ethnic Legacy of Soccer”, Len Oliver wrote (in 1996) that while “[w]e no longer have to depend on immigration to support soccer,” he believes that:

“Whatever the current composition of soccer in the U.S., we can still talk about ethnic contributions of the past, the strong ethnic roots in the game, and the continuing ethnic legacy. As long as we remain a multi-cultural society, our soccer will continue to be influenced by people born outside our shores. No other major team sport in the U.S. can boast such a rich pluralistic tradition, one that reflects our country’s own diversity.”

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