It’s a fall weekend evening in Dallas, and Klyde Warren Park in the Arts District is packed with fans in advance of Liga MX’s Super Clásico. It’s a sight that might surprise even savvy sports marketers looking for ways to capitalize on soccer’s traction, following Lionel Messi’s transfer to Inter Miami and North America winning the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Advertiser interest in soccer has been on the rise. It’s the No. 1 sport followed by Hispanic fans in the U.S., and viewership and engagement only continues to grow. With that said, there’s still a large, uncharted goldmine of passionate soccer viewers in the U.S. that marketers often miss: those who watch Liga MX, the top professional soccer division in Mexico, with 18 clubs and more than 40 weeks of live action, plus additional tournaments.
It isn’t just the number of fans that’s turning the heads of advertisers. Liga MX’s audience has a particularly strong passion for the league. While some of this fervor comes from identifying as Mexican American, or via family ties that cross the border, being a Liga MX fan is an identity in and of itself.
The average Liga MX viewer is 35 years old—the youngest of any major American sports league—and also skews younger than other Hispanic sports fans, with 76% identifying as Gen Z or millennial. No other sports leagues attract millennial and Gen Z fans more than Liga MX.
“Liga MX’s young fanbase in the U.S. is proud and passionate,” said Steve Kulp, director of Kantar Sports Monitor. “Our research shows that 92% of fans wear Liga MX’s logo as a badge, and that its presence influences their likelihood to interact with a brand or buy a product.”
Embracing a ‘foreign’ soccer league
Though Liga MX’s week-in, week-out matches are played in Mexico, the league is not perceived as “foreign” by its U.S. audience. More than 94% of Liga MX fans surveyed by Kantar say Liga MX feels like a domestic league for Latinos living in the U.S. That’s in part because Liga MX teams often play friendly matches in markets across the U.S. Most recently, 86,000 fans gathered at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, for a match between Club América and Chivas Guadalajara.
“The United States is a critical market for us, and home to millions of our fans,” said Liga MX President Mikel Arriola. “We have a duty to extend the Liga MX product into this market and provide our unique fanbase with more opportunities to interact with the clubs, players and legends they love.”
There are already frequent opportunities for fans to see stars like Club América’s Julián Quiñones, Tigres’ Andre-Pierre Gignac and Monterrey’s Luis Romo. These are opportunities not to be missed given Kantar’s research, which found that 84% of Liga MX fans are more likely to consider brands that support their favorite sports league, with 72% going out of their way to buy associated brands.
Two additional factors are spearheading Liga MX’s continued growth. First, the increased amount of matches Liga MX teams are playing in the U.S. against MLS teams thanks to the Leagues Cup, which completed its first expanded edition this season. Second, the rise of women’s soccer, as Liga MX Femenil continues to draw large crowds for domestic matches.
Sponsorship of Liga MX can lead to bigger exposure with a presence in larger international tournaments like the Leagues Cup, as well as the Concacaf Champions Cup and Campeones Cup. This is important since 85% of Liga MX fans said they are more likely to notice advertisements when watching sports compared to other content. The same percentage also finds that the ads they see while watching sports are typically relevant to their interests.
“We leverage our sponsorship portfolio as a way to show our priority audiences that we care about what they care about,” said Tamika Hillman, senior manager, sponsorships, at T-Mobile. “With Metro by T-Mobile’s official Liga MX partnership, we are sharing in the passion for Mexican soccer among U.S. Hispanics and are witnessing how this partnership is strengthening brand affinity and engagement with the growing and loyal Hispanic community.”
A unique and passionate audience
Liga MX gives brands a clear path to connect with a demographic that has been historically difficult to reach effectively. For fans, their passion for the league is a lifestyle, positively influencing them to consider brands and products that feature their favorite league’s logo, players and footage on products, at retail touchpoints and in commercials.
“Liga MX is a hidden gem in the sports sponsorship landscape,” said Jose Luis Los Arcos, TelevisaUnivision’s senior VP of sports partnerships. “Every sports marketer knows what soccer is going to represent in the coming years in this country and should look very closely at the potential this league offers.
“For brands, it means the ability to partner with the most watched soccer league in the US and engage with a unique and passionate audience—all at a time where soccer is booming in the run-up to Copa America in 2024 and the World Cup in 2026.”
