North American soccer’s CONCACAF continental governing body will not be renewing its commercial agreement with the Soccer United Marketing (SUM) agency, ending a decade-long partnership.
Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of Major League Soccer, has served as the partnership sales agent for CONCACAF’s top-tier competitions in the US market since 2016, but the pair’s current contract will not be renewed before its expiry at the end of 2026.
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Instead, CONCACAF will look to take rights in-house going forward, a shift that it claims will grant it “greater flexibility to develop and manage its commercial partnerships and work with different partners across its competitions and commercial properties.”
CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani stated of the move: “As we enter this next chapter, we are excited to build on that foundation, strengthen our commercial capabilities, and develop new partnerships that will support the continued growth of football across our region.
“Over the past decade, we have worked hard to transform CONCACAF, strengthen our competitions, and create new opportunities for our member associations and commercial partners. SUM has been an important partner throughout this journey, and I want to thank them for their commitment and contributions to our Confederation's growth.
Though the pair’s commercial agreement will end, CONCACAF said that SUM will still support the body’s “key” upcoming tournaments, including the 2027 CONCACAF Nations League Final (March 25 to 28) and the 2027 CONCACF Gold Cup (June 17 to July 11).
The US Soccer Federation ended its relationship with SUM in 2022 and has since seen strong commercial revenue gains, although much of that can be attributed to the FIFA 2026 World Cup, which was jointly hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada.
SUM does, however, still have the contract for US partnership sales with Mexican soccer’s FMF governing body, through which it supports the annual MexTour events.
Additionally, SUM also handles sales for Major League Soccer (MLS), as well as events co-organized between MLS and the Mexican top-flight Liga MX (the Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup)
