Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge met James Harden during the club's stop in Texas.fc bayern munich
Bayern Munich wrapped up its preseason tour of the U.S. -- which CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said is Bayern's "most important market" -- with Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over AC Milan in front of a capacity crowd of 18,469 at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City.
While a number of Int’l Champions Cup matches this summer drew disappointing turnouts, Bayern appeared immune to the attendance issues. The reigning Bundesliga champs drew a capacity crowd of 26,704 for the July 17 match against Arsenal at L.A.’s Dignity Health Sports Park. An open practice while the team was in L.A. also drew 1,000, while an open practice in Houston prior to the Real Madrid match Saturday night at NRG Stadium also drew 200 fans, according to the club. The number of supporters at both of those practices represented maximum capacity. The match against Los Blancos was not a sell-out, but drew over 60,000 fans.
The hordes of fans in red Bayern jerseys in L.A., Houston and Kansas City the last two weeks were the latest evidence of Bayern’s growing popularity in North America. Rummenigge said that the club’s growing presence Stateside -- it now has 150 U.S. fan clubs -- is "proof the business is going in the right direction." In part 1 of a Q&A -- check out Thursday's Global for part 2 -- Rummenigge offered his thoughts on a market with which the club has become increasingly familiar since opening its North American office in N.Y. in '14.
Q: How would you evaluate Bayern Munich’s U.S. growth the last five years?
Rummenigge: We are very happy. They [President of the Americas Rudolf Vidal and his staff] have done a great job the past five years in favor of our club. That is the foundation of all the success we have had here in the U.S. … It was a good and wise decision to open that office.
The U.S. is by far the most important market in the world. … There are two things to regard in that business. The first is we have signed five or six American sponsors, including Procter & Gamble. … All of our sponsors in Germany also have an interest in the U.S. market because globalization has arrived in football and has arrived in the business world. It is an obligation to do what we are doing here in the U.S.
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Q: What have been the keys to soccer’s growth in the United States?
Rummenigge: I believe the whole soccer world has an interest in U.S. soccer’s growth process. A couple of weeks ago, the women’s team won the World Cup in France. That was good for soccer as well, but I believe the most important thing is that the U.S. men’s soccer team is following the women in a good way as well. The women’s team, I will say, is stronger than the men’s team.
Q: How do you expect the U.S. soccer market to evolve between now and the 2026 World Cup?
Rummenigge: I believe this is a market where the whole soccer world has an interest that the men’s soccer is growing. Hopefully, in the next World Cup, they will have a strong team. And I’m convinced when they host the World Cup here in 2026, they will show that they’re doing a good job in soccer regarding the men’s team.
Q: What does Bayern want to see from whoever acquires the U.S. rights to the Bundesliga when the current deal with Fox expires next May?
Rummenigge: First of all, it was a good decision by the league to sign that partnership with Fox because Fox doing is a good job and everybody's happy because the audience is much, much bigger than in the past. ... We have a very good guy who's doing a very good job, [Bundesliga CEO] Christian Seifert. I hope that the next deal regarding the American market will make all the clubs happy, because of course we need the money to compete with our colleagues in the other big countries.
