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What's next for soccer in Cincinnati? Maybe the MLS All-Star Game.

pat brennan, cincinnati enquirer
·4 min read

Before the dust had settled on the announcements by FIFA Thursday regarding 2026 FIFA men's World Cup host sites, Cincinnati was already up off the proverbial canvas.

Cincinnati's bid to host matches as part of the 2026 World Cup came up short as 11 other American markets were selected to stage games.

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Even in the midst of the disappointment, Jeff Berding, co-CEO of FC Cincinnati and a leader of the 2026 bid, was looking ahead and maintaining a positive disposition.

"Don't sleep on Cincinnati," Berding repeated as he made the rounds with local reporters.

Jeff Berding and Carl Lindner III, 2026 Cincy Local Organizing Executive Committee members, greet fans after the watch party for the U.S. Host Cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at The Pitch in Over-The-Rhine on Thursday, June 16, 2022. Cincinnati was not selected.
Jeff Berding and Carl Lindner III, 2026 Cincy Local Organizing Executive Committee members, greet fans after the watch party for the U.S. Host Cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at The Pitch in Over-The-Rhine on Thursday, June 16, 2022. Cincinnati was not selected.

Why the apparent optimism on a day of disappointment?

Not only did Berding convey that he felt Cincinnati acquitted itself well in the 2026 World Cup bidding process, he stated Cincinnati would continue applying for major events including the 2025 Major League Soccer All-Star Game.

Berding also mentioned the Rugby World Cup, which is set to be staged in France in 2023, and upcoming FIFA Women's World Cups, as possible targets.

The U.S. has already been awarded the 2031 and 2033 men's and women's Rugby World Cups, respectively. U.S. Soccer Federation officials reportedly considered a bid for the 2027 FIFA women's World Cup, but the organization is now thought to be focusing on the 2031 tournament.

The opportunity to bid for the 2027 World Cup – that World Cup would be sandwiched between the 2026 men's tournament and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics – is still open.

But in the shorter term, soccer fans will be most interested in the possibility of an MLS All-Star Game.

“Carl (Lindner III) and I have made a decision that we’re going to bid for the 2025 MLS All-Star Game, so you know, maybe we don’t have 2026 World Cup, but we could have the All-Star Game," Berding said. "I think we’re confident we’ll continue to have World Cup qualifiers here. Maybe we bid for the Rugby World Cup, we bid for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. So, we’re going to keep bidding for big events and I think we’ve shown we know how to get that done in Cincinnati.”

Berding added FC Cincinnati has informed MLS officials of its desire to host the annual match.

The MLS All-Star Game is one of the biggest events on the league's annual calendar, and has grown in its reach in recent years.

Through shifting formats – Eastern versus Western conference and all-MLS teams versus prominent foreign clubs – the All-Star Game is a major draw in North American soccer circles.

In addition to hosting the league's own best players and their fans, the MLS All-Star Game also serves as a stage for significant announcements from the league, its players union and other shareholders.

The players and teams that come to U.S. and Canadian soil to face MLS competition typically use the games as an opportunity to expand their own reach and branding.

In years when MLS players joined forced to battle foreign clubs, visiting teams included Bayern Munich (Germany), Juventus (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain) and multiple English Premier League sides.

In 2021, MLS debuted an MLS-versus-Liga MX format, which pitted the best players from Mexico's first-division against the biggest names in America's and Canada's top domestic league. That format will be used again this summer when the MLS All-Star game is staged at Minnesota United FC's Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.

It's too early to know which format will be deployed in 2025. The host city for the 2024 All-Star Game is yet to be announced publicly, and it's possible other cities could contest for the rights to host the game in 2025.

Clearly, though, Cincinnati's appetite for major soccer events of international appeal didn't lessen with the news of the city's unsuccessful attempt at men's World Cup matches.

“In the past, Cincinnati wouldn’t even dream this big. You’re gonna miss 100% of the shots you don’t take," Berding said Thursday of the city's 2026 World Cup bid. "We took our shot and we showed that we’re an ambitious city, and I think we’ve shown from when we started in 2017 to now – best soccer stadium in the country.

"We’ve host the biggest soccer match in this country every four years: the U.S.A.-Mexico World Cup qualifier. U.S. Soccer came back, and thousands of fans from Morocco traveled in from all over. We’ve shown that Cincinnati is a city that can host these big international events."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What's next for soccer in Cincinnati? Maybe the MLS All-Star Game.