July 15, 2023 was Day Zero for the MLS and the Messi era. Apple TV +, adidas, Inter Miami CF, Major League Soccer, David Beckham, & Jorge Mas completed the deal and the Number 10 pink jerseys began to be printed. The League saw Season Pass subscriptions rise, sellouts for every Inter Miami match, home and away. After markets buzzed with ticket sales 10x in value seemingly overnight. Every club in MLS was holding meetings with Marketing and Ticketing teams on how to maximize the opportunity for the remainder of the 23 campaign and beyond.
The 2024 Messi Maximization is officially underway.
Inter Miami has set out on a massive Pre-Season tour. A type of tour that has become common for global giants like Manchester United, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid C.F., etc. MLS clubs have generally gravitated to warm weather destinations to optimize their training and often travelled in small clusters in order to stage more competitive friendly matches to prepare for the season. While the much the rest of MLS is heading to Phoenix, Palm Springs, or Florida - Miami is setting out on quite the adventure.
Inter Miami will be off on an 8 leg, 6 city tour that will span 20 days, 2 continents and over 20K miles of travel. Inter Miami will start out in El Salvador, then after returning to Miami, they will travel to face FC Dallas in the Cotton Bowl. From there back to Miami and then off to Saudi Arabia where one of two friendlies could pit Cristiano Ronaldo against Messi. From there it will be off to Hong Kong for a friendly and then finishing in Tokyo for the final match on February 7 before returning back to Miami where they will finish off the preseason with a home match against Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys, the boyhood club of both Messi and manager Tata Martino.
This is a big business play by a club and a league that is eager to capitalize on their momentum and take the opportunity to grow the profile of Inter Miami and the MLS. AppleTV will broadcast 7 Inter Miami preseason matches on the MLS Season Pass to continue to grow that platform. Global eyes will have the opportunity to see a couple marquee Messi moments early in the 2024 campaign with the club facing off against CR7 and then facing his boyhood Argentine club.
Sports Business Class - -
Maximize Limited Resources. How is Messi a "limited resource"? How is a preseason tour a "limited resource"?
Unlock Revenue. What are the potential revenue streams that are enhanced by this tour? What new revenue opportunities are unlocked?
The Ripple Effect. What other businesses or organizations will gain from this tour? What are some new businesses that could spring up to enhance this work?
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