Alan Rothenberg & Kenneth Cortsen discuss the history, development & future of the MLS and football

This sports business podcast provides interesting insights about the heart of US football/soccer history and development. Alan Rothenberg, a renowned expert in sports law, sports leadership and sports business, is a guest in this podcast in which he gives the audience first-hand knowledge from how he participated in boosting football's (soccer in the U.S.) popularity in the U.S. from his positions as Chairman and CEO of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Chairman of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, President of the U.S. Soccer Federation, Chairman of the U.S. Soccer Foundation and a founder of Major League Soccer.

At the time, the 1994 FIFA World Cup was the most successful in the history of FIFA. The tournament generated massive average attendance numbers, approximately 64,000 fans per game, and produced an operating profit of more than $69 mio.

Alan Rothenberg also owned the North American Soccer League team Los Angeles Aztecs and acted as the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics soccer commissioner. When leading the Aztecs, Rothenberg worked closely with football legends Rinus Michels (coach and inventor of 'total football') and Johan Cruyff. Before this period, Alan Rothenberg held top executive positions in the NBA, e.g., representing the Los Angeles Lakers on the NBA's Board of Governors from 1971-1979 and serving on the same board again from 1982-1990 as President for the Los Angeles Clippers.