MLS Cup: how America's league grew from novelty to destination

The growth story

For decades the conversation about American football followed the same script: a retirement league for European stars, with the real action happening elsewhere. That script is being rewritten.

Major League Soccer's growth has been built on foundations the league spent years laying — purpose-built stadiums, a salary structure that rewards homegrown players and academies that now rival Europe's best.

The proof is on the pitch: record attendances, a generation of American teenagers moving directly from MLS academies to Europe's top leagues and a domestic product that no longer needs to apologise for itself.

• Record average attendance for the fifth consecutive season
• The most homegrown minutes in the league's history
• A record number of academy graduates sold to European clubs

We stopped importing the game and started growing it.