MLS is the most international professional soccer league in the world

There are players from Burkina Faso and South Korea, from Argentina and Greece, from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and also from Spain. The list reaches 79 countries: 79 nationalities and six continents represented in Major League Soccer (MLS), making the United States professional soccer league the most international in the world. It is proof of the investment and growth that the most popular sport in the world has experienced in the country recently. Over the last 15 years there has been a 33% increase in the diversity of the league’s squads, in parallel with an increase in club income and the popularity of the competition, domestic and internationally.

When compared to other leagues, beyond North America, the dimension of the statistics is clearer. In the English Premier League, the most powerful and popular in the world, there are 69 countries represented. In France’s Ligue 1 there are 68; in Italy’s Serie A, 65; and in the Spanish League, 60. It is true that the profiles of the players are different, due to the different recruitment models that exist between Europe and the United States, but the reality that the MLS teams are willing to search and compete for talent in every corner of the world, it is undeniable.

This also stands out on a national level, when put head to head with the other major men’s professional sports leagues in North America. The number of nationalities represented in MLS in 2024 is almost double that of the next closest men’s league in North America, which is the NBA, with 45 countries represented. With the other popular sports in the United States, the difference is even greater. There are more nationalities in the professional football league than in the NFL football (29), MLB baseball (23) and NHL ice hockey (22) combined.

Naturally, the presence of Latin American players is notable. With 35 players, including world champions with the Argentine National Team Thiago Almada (Atlanta United) and Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF), Argentina has contributed the most players born outside the United States and Canada for the third consecutive year. Brazil (30) and Colombia (29) are next. France and the United Kingdom follow, with 19 players each.

But also, perhaps counterintuitively, MLS continues to offer more opportunities for national talent at the same time. According to league figures, the 2024 season has seen more than 375 domestic players competing, 332 from the United States and 44 from Canada, representing 48.5% of the total player pool. Only in La Liga (59.5%) and the Bundesliga (54.1%) more than 50% of the players are local.

MLS also released data today on the average age of players on rosters. As of May 13, the average age of players on MLS rosters was 26.13 years old, also the youngest among the five major men’s sports leagues in North America. The NBA is the next closest league at 26.48 years, followed by the NFL (27.23), MLB (29.15), and NHL (29.34).

Although it is the youngest competition at the national level, when compared to other soccer leagues the panorama is a little different, mainly due to the different professionalization models. In the MLS more than 150 players aged 22 or younger have played at least one game during the 2024 season (169 as of May 13); and of the 103 players who have debuted in the MLS this season, the average age was 23.12 years.

For a European soccer follower, this age is high to be debuting, but since in the United States professionalization occurs after a university stage, it is absolutely normal. This means that their players mature later than in Europe, where Real Madrid players such as Jude Bellingham or Eduardo Camavinga can win a Champions League at 20 and 21 years old, respectively.

This somewhat late development may be a comparative disadvantage, but the university model, on the other hand, is an advantage when it comes to attracting international talent. For young people from many parts of the world who dream of being professional soccer players, the possibility of also pursuing a career in the United States thanks to their sporting talent is a very attractive proposition. Not everyone will become Messi, and despite the money it moves, football is a precarious and short-lived profession, where a high percentage of players end up bankrupt after retiring, so the idea that the sport offers a future after football is sensible Maybe it’s one of the reasons why players from so many different countries have ended up playing in MLS.