North America’s Major League Soccer (MLS) competition has struck a new multi-year licensing agreement with Stahls, which will now provide heat-printed names, numbers, and stickers to team kits going forward.
This agreement covers both on-field kits for participating teams and players, as well as retail replica kits and apparel league-wide.
Speaking on the deal, Stahls vice president for sports licensing, Chris Hooks, said: "With on-demand and heat printing capabilities, we're helping clubs and retailers deliver premium, customized jerseys faster and more efficiently, whether that's in the stadium or online. It creates more opportunities for fans to engage with their teams in a personal way."
Outside of MLS, Stahls also provides similar services to a host of prominent European soccer clubs, such as Spanish LaLiga champions FC Barcelona.
More recently, teams such as France’s Paris FC and Spain’s Getafe have added Stahls to their respective partnership portfolios.
MLS senior vice president of consumer products Rachel Hoagland added: "Working with Stahls marks an exciting step forward for Major League Soccer as we continue to elevate the quality, innovation, and accessibility of our fan merchandise.
“Stahls is an industry leader with expertise in customization and on-demand decoration, and this agreement reflects our shared commitment to delivering a best-in-class experience for fans across the league."
The 2026 MLS campaign began on February 21, with its regular season running through November 7, to be followed by post-season playoffs from November 18 through December 18’s MLS Cup Final.
This year, it will feature a break due to the upcoming FIFA World Cup taking place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
This announcement comes weeks after MLS announced the latest cohort of its ‘Innovation Lab’ partner firms.
Established two years ago, the Innovation Lab is a program where emerging sports- and broadcast-centric technology startups can collaborate with the league to develop their solutions.
Running seasonally, the Innovation Lab program begins in the latter half of the year and runs through the next year’s MLS All-Star showcase.
This edition of the project features input from AI-powered healthcare tracking firm Springbok Analytics, athlete performance analytics companies Orreco and FIT:match, video production and camera systems producer Advanced Image Robotics, and AI ticketing provider WMT.
Read more - Explainer: How MLS is leveraging technology to enhance its product
