Episode
MLS Next Pro Investment With Eben Novy-Williams
- Podcast
- The Best Soccer Show
- Published
- May 7, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2242
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/RPPSG2965058852.mp3
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Summary
Special Edition: The Future of MLS Next Pro Jason is on the road to Pawtucket, Rhode Island for a live Morning Kick Around at Centreville Bank Stadium — so rather than leave you hanging, he's crossing the streams. This episode features the full Morning Kick Around interview with Eben Novy-Williams, deputy editor at Sportico, on KKR's blockbuster investment in MLS Next Pro through the newly formed Hometown Soccer Holdings. Jason and co-host Rob Kerr dig into what it all means for the soccer wars, lower-division soccer in America, MLS valuations, the Vancouver Whitecaps crisis, and what the World Cup might — or might not — do for the game's long-term trajectory. TIMESTAMPS: [0:00:28] — Welcome & road trip intro: Jason heads to Pawtucket for Morning Kick Around live at Centreville Bank Stadium, Rhode Island FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies, May 9th [0:01:02] — Check out Morning Kick Around on YouTube: youtube.com/@MorningKickAround [0:03:35] — Support the show at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow — World Cup content incoming for Besties, plus Wednesday office hours and the Bestie Slack [0:05:00] — Interview begins: Eben Novy-Williams, deputy editor at Sportico, joins Jason and Rob Kerr [0:05:46] — Why KKR? MLS launched Next Pro in 2022 with a minor league baseball vision — teams in non-MLS cities building a full pyramid. Four years in, most clubs treated it as a sunk cost, not a business. KKR changes that calculus. [0:07:12] — The moat strategy: MLS wants to control the entire pro soccer pyramid in the U.S. — and this deal widens the moat against USL considerably. [0:09:03] — KKR's timeline is likely five years. They want to build the commercial structure, prove the concept, grow the league, then find a successor. From MLS's side, this is Next Pro 2.0. [0:11:25] — The real estate ang…