WHAT FÚTBOL TAUGHT ME ABOUT SEEING THE FUTURE
BY THE AGENCY AUSTIN - ALEJANDRO RUELAS
As the FIFA World Cup returns to North America, I've found myself reflecting on a journey that began long before I was involved in sponsorship deals, marketing strategies, or corporate boardrooms.
It began with a soccer ball.
Or more accurately, whatever we could turn into one.
Growing up, my brothers and I didn't always have the luxury of being able to buy sporting equipment. Like many families, we made do with what we had. My mother would help us create makeshift soccer balls from newspapers wrapped in used rubber bands, tape, or whatever materials we could find. Looking back, those improvised soccer balls represented something much larger than sport. They represented imagination, resilience, community, and joy — courtesy of my Mom’s love and creativity.
Soccer was woven into everyday life. It connected neighborhoods, families, and generations. It gave us something to believe in and something to aspire to. Long before I understood marketing, I understood the emotional power of the game.
Like many young athletes, I dreamed of playing professionally one day. Arriving in the U.S. as a 15-year-old, I had the good fortune to play soccer in high school, and then in college. With that foundation, I hoped the sport would carry me further. But life has a way of redirecting our plans. Responsibilities emerged. Reality intervened. The dream of becoming a professional player eventually gave way to the need to build a career.
What I didn't realize at the time was that while my path in soccer would change, my relationship with the game never would.
After college, I entered the business world through a beer distributorship. Later, that path led me to Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, and business school. What began as a career in sales and marketing eventually became an education in consumer behavior, brand building, and perhaps most importantly, culture.
Because culture is where the future reveals itself first.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, most major American marketers viewed soccer as a niche sport. The dominant conversations revolved around American football, baseball, basketball, and motorsports. Soccer was often dismissed as something that mattered elsewhere, but not here.
I saw something different.
What many people viewed as a sport, I viewed as a cultural movement. And the leaders of the company agreed.
Across Hispanic and other immigrant communities throughout the United States, soccer wasn't emerging. It was already deeply embedded in people's lives. Families gathered around matches. National teams carried enormous emotional significance. Broadcasters were building passionate audiences. Entire communities were expressing their identity through the sport.
The numbers mattered, but the cultural signals mattered more.
America itself was changing.
The country's demographics were evolving. New consumers were emerging. New cultural influences were shaping the future. The brands that understood those shifts would have an opportunity to build relationships that competitors could not easily replicate.
At Anheuser-Busch, key colleagues and I became advocates for investing in soccer long before it became an obvious business decision. And we enjoyed the support of visionary leaders who committed funds and resources.
We worked to bring the Mexican National Team to the United States as a platform to connect more authentically with Hispanic consumers. We helped develop partnerships, media relationships, and promotional programs that recognized the passion and influence of soccer audiences. Along the way, I had the opportunity to work with extraordinary people, including my friend Andrés Cantor, who would go on to become one of the most recognizable voices in world soccer.
But the biggest opportunity was still ahead.
In 1992, after considerable internal discussion, analysis, and more than a little persistence, I helped champion Anheuser-Busch's pursuit of the global beer sponsorship rights for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
At the time, it was far from a universally accepted idea.
Many believed soccer's future in America was uncertain. Others questioned whether the investment could deliver meaningful returns. The safest answer would have been to focus on established properties and familiar audiences.
But leadership rarely happens by following consensus.
The most valuable opportunities often emerge before there is widespread agreement. They require conviction before validation.
The 1994 FIFA World Cup became a landmark event for soccer in the United States. More importantly, it validated something many of us believed all along: the passion for the game was real, the audience was real, and the future was far bigger than most people imagined.
More than three decades later, that sponsorship relationship is still in place.
Since then, we've watched the rise of US Soccer and MLS, the explosive growth of women's soccer, the arrival of clubs like Austin FC, St. Louis City, and the return of the World Cup to North America. We've seen soccer become an increasingly important part of the American sports landscape and an undeniable force in global culture.
For me, however, the lesson has never been about soccer alone.
The lesson is that transformative opportunities often appear long before they become obvious.
The job of leaders, marketers, and entrepreneurs is not simply to react to change. It is to recognize it while it is still forming.
Sometimes the future first appears as a signal that others overlook.
Sometimes it looks like a cultural shift.
Sometimes it looks like an underserved audience.
And sometimes it looks like a kid chasing a homemade soccer ball down a dusty street, unaware that the game he loves will one day help shape his career.
As the world gathers once again to celebrate the beautiful game, I'm grateful for the role soccer has played in my life. Not only for the opportunities it created, but also for the lessons it taught me about people, culture, and the importance of believing in something before the rest of the world catches up.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alejandro Ruelas is a Managing Partner at The Agency Austin. He’s also the Founder of THIRD EAR, a globally recognized advertising agency. A veteran marketing strategist he has spent over three decades helping brands connect with consumers and grow market share. He has led award-winning campaigns for global, national, and regional brands, with particular expertise in diversity marketing, brand building, and business transformation.
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