A fan-first digital ecosystem.
from legacy to next-genMajor League Soccer (MLS) is emerging as one of the world’s most dynamic sports leagues and the fastest-growing soccer league in the world, uniting 30 clubs across the United States and Canada to showcase elite soccer talent.
Since its inception in 1996, MLS has evolved into a powerhouse on the global soccer scene. What began with just 10 teams has now grown to 30. Team ownership fees have skyrocketed from just $5 million in the ‘90s to the $500 million expansion paid by San Diego FC, which made its MLS debut in 2025. Today, MLS has the highest number of Clubs (19) within the top 50 most valuable soccer clubs in the world; five of which have crossed the $1B threshold (LAFC, Inter Miami, LA Galaxy, Atlanta United and New York City FC).
The league has housed some of the most iconic names in sports, including David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Andrea Pirlo. The arrival of universal phenom (and 8-time Ballon d’Or winner) Lionel Messi in 2023 sparked a global wave of fans and propelled MLS into an exciting new chapter of fan engagement and international influence.
quick links
The league has already set an all-time attendance record in Messi’s first full season, with over 12 million fans attending matches in 2024, surpassing the 2023 season’s record and continuing a streak of 10 million-plus fans for the third year in a row. Through this milestone in 2024, MLS achieved the second-highest total attendance of any soccer league worldwide, behind only England’s Premier League. Fueled by dedicated supporters, bold partnerships and star talent, the league is committed to doubling its core fanbase by 2027 and catapulting soccer awareness before the U.S., Mexico and Canada host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
MLS is welcoming a new era — where tradition meets innovation and a brand rooted in legacy paves the way for the future of the sport.
vision
From Every Tap to Every Goal — A Fan Experience Reimagined
goal drivenMajor League Soccer set out to reshape the fan experience with a world-class, user-first digital ecosystem. As global interest and digital channels continue to proliferate, fans expect instant, personalized and immersive digital experiences far beyond the 90 minutes of a match. From onboarding and ticketing to curated content feeds, in-match engagement and AI-powered features, MLS wants to meet fans where they are. The goal? To create an immersive platform that embodies MLS’ iconic brand while captivating both casual fans and die-hard soccer enthusiasts with the right content, at the right time.
challenge
Building for the Fans, Not Just for Game Day
high stakesMLS came to STRV at an inflection point. To keep up with the demands of their ever-expanding global fan base, MLS needed a partner to help them evolve from transactional relationships to long-term fan engagement with evolving digital expectations. With Messi's arrival plus a $2.5B deal signed with Apple raising the stakes, they were after more than just a new app. They needed a future-proof, dynamic digital platform built ahead of the 2025 season.
The app required a new foundation to power personalized content, predictive analytics and intelligent automation. The integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence was crucial to deliver adaptive content personalization, a conversational virtual AI assistant, dynamic push notifications and context-aware UX adaptation. Additionally, the instrumentation of rich behavioral data acquisition was also crucial for contextualization, engagement and optimization.
the solution
Level the Pitch. Then Raise the Bar.
for the fansMLS’ digital transformation began with a critical first step: stabilizing the existing app while laying the groundwork for the future. With a legacy app that struggled to keep up with growing demand, STRV’s first goal was to restore reliability and performance. After diagnosing opportunities to optimize the architecture, the engineering teams refactored the codebase and implemented rigorous QA processes to ensure fans could access real-time updates without delays or crashes.
Next, to truly understand the fan connection, STRV attended matches and traveled to Columbus for the 2024 All-Star game. These insights, in combination with MLS consumer research, competitive intelligence and sports industry trends, shaped our approach, making sure we not only met — but exceeded — fan expectations every step of the way.
With the foundation stabilized, STRV and MLS focused on reimagining the fan experience from the ground up.
Product & Design Excellence
A UI That Scores on Every Screen
Building this app wasn’t just about user experience — it was also about capturing the heart of the brand. Our product team made sure every feature felt intuitive, exciting and unmistakably on brand with MLS. From the first sketches to the final UI, we focused on what fans want: an immersive interaction that feels as alive as the game itself.
With countless sports apps out there, standing out wasn’t optional. Our designers infused the app with the energy of the league — bold, dynamic and deeply personal. Interactive club badges, vibrant video backgrounds and an onboarding jersey customization feature make every fan feel like they belong the moment they log in. And with an autoplay video and dynamic highlight carousels greeting them on the home screen, the excitement kicks off almost instantly.
Bringing the MLS vision to life meant crafting the right set of features — the kind that can elevate how fans engage with the brand every day.
Main Takeaways
Sidekick AI
The Future of Fan Engagement
Delivering a groundbreaking AI-powered feature was just as essential to the new MLS app as enhancing visuals and performance. Enter Sidekick AI — the core of MLS’s vision for creating a dynamic, adaptive user experience.
Currently in its initial phase, Sidekick AI is designed to focus on answering fan inquiries and providing relevant stats and updates, but the vision goes far beyond that. Powered by an agentic RAG-augmented large language model, the aim is for Sidekick to actively learn from user behavior, curating content that’s hyper-relevant to each individual. Why? To eventually anticipate needs, preload scores based on user habits, surface highlights at just the right moment and provide deeper insights into the league and players.
As Sidekick AI continues to grow, it will transform how fans interact with MLS — centering all real-time personalization on its engine and evolving into a dynamic (adaptive) UX with agentic workflows. This progression sets the stage for a deeper, more meaningful connection between the league and its supporters.
Engineering Powerhouse
Where Real-Time Meets Real Fans
Behind every tap, swipe and stat update in the MLS app is a solid foundation built by STRV’s engineering team. To make sure fans always have instant access to match updates, player stats and breaking news, we developed three key client SDKs:
Data SDKs – The brains behind all real-time statistics, schedules, player performance and user data and consent/privacy compliance
Content SDK – Integrates rich content experiences and allows us to embed, display, manage and interact with the full catalog of MLS content
Authentication & Personalization SDK –Securely identifies Fans and delivers tailored experiences to build user trust, ensure secure access and boost initial engagement.
But we didn’t stop there. To fuel the entire MLS ecosystem with fast, reliable data, we integrated with MLS’s Stats API 2.0 — a next-gen MLS data pipeline that processes and distributes real-time stats seamlessly across platforms. Whether fans are checking scores in the app or browsing MLS content elsewhere, they’re getting the most up-to-date information in milliseconds.
The result? A platform that doesn’t just meet expectations – it sets a new standard for how fans interact with the sport they love.
outcome
The new MLS app redefines how fans experience the game, delivering personalized content, real-time insights and an immersive design that captures the energy of all 30 teams. Every interaction — from instant match updates to vibrant visuals and seamless ticketing — brings fans closer to the action anytime and anywhere.
