One week after the World Cup final whistle, the Scottish Premiership kicks off. Days later, the Dutch Eredivisie and England's Carabao Cup resume their cycles. Champions League qualifying rounds started before the World Cup even ended. MLS is back. Liga MX is already two rounds deep into its season. The sport's machinery never paused, never rested, never gave anyone time to catch their breath.
Soccer has become a permanent state of being rather than something you watch. There is no off-season to speak of, no gap between competitions where anticipation can actually build. One league season simply bleeds into the next, separated only by transfer windows and preseason friendlies that somehow still demand your attention.
The World Cup's singular power derives from its scarcity. Once every four years, for roughly a month, nearly the entire planet watches the same matches at the same time. There are no overlapping games, no algorithmic splintering of audience into separate camps. It is the last surviving piece of true global monoculture, something that binds viewers across continents and time zones around a shared experience. The matches don't compete with each other. They're events, not routine.
But FIFA isn't satisfied with that formula. The organization expanded this year's tournament from 32 to 48 teams, growing the spectacle by 50 percent. Given the chance, FIFA would push toward a biennial World Cup with 64 teams. More games. Always more games. The sport's executive class has one governing principle: expand the product, flood the market, never let demand catch up with supply.
This strategy runs counter to what actually preserves sporting prestige. The National Football League dominates the American sports landscape precisely because its games are scarce. Twelve or thirteen games per season create genuine scarcity. Each matchup feels momentous. Viewers can't skip one today and catch up tomorrow. Soccer, by contrast, has become like scrolling through an algorithm-driven social media feed filled with content you barely register. Very little feels urgent or relevant. Most of it might not even feel real.
The torrent of available soccer has grown exponentially since broadcast technologies democratized access. Decades ago, someone watching in Belgium might catch French Ligue 1 highlights on Sunday mornings, domestic leagues on Sunday evenings, and perhaps a Premier League match at night. Access to Serie A required stumbling upon it on the Italian broadcaster. Today, sitting anywhere with an internet connection, a viewer can access nearly any match from nearly any league in the world at almost any time.
This democratization isn't inherently worse. The problem is one of saturation. The supply of professional soccer has become so overwhelming that it seems to exceed demand by an enormous margin. There is never a breather, never a moment where you miss the sport enough to crave it again. Thoughts about the World Cup haven't even fully formed yet, opinions haven't solidified, the tournament's impact on the sport's fundamental paradigms still remains unsettled. And already another season is underway, demanding attention, requiring takes, insisting on analysis.
Anecdotal evidence suggests others feel this fatigue too. A preseason friendly between Liverpool and Sunderland in Nashville failed to fill an MLS stadium. Wrexham and Leeds United drew sparse crowds in Tampa. These are marquee matchups in a pre-competition format, yet they couldn't drive attendance. The audience is drowning, even when offered attractive options.
Soccer needs what it systematically refuses to give itself: restraint. The sport would benefit enormously from embracing scarcity rather than fighting it. A genuine off-season. A calendar that respects the clock. Space for anticipation to actually develop. Instead, the relentless machine keeps turning, indifferent to whether anyone is still paying attention.
Author James Rodriguez: "Soccer has optimized itself into a product so abundant that it's become invisible. The World Cup's power comes from its rarity, and FIFA is determined to destroy that advantage in pursuit of endless growth."
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