June 9, 2026
Contact: Eric Stann, StannE@missouri.edu
Photo courtesy of Ryan Madden
In 1994 — the last time the United States hosted the FIFA World Cup — expectations for the U.S. men’s national soccer team were modest until one unforgettable day.
Against all odds, the Americans stunned heavily favored Colombia in one of the tournament’s most memorable upsets. More than 90,000 U.S. fans rose as one, their collective roar echoing through the stadium. Sitting beside his father inside the Rose Bowl, a young Ryan Madden felt the power of what sports can create as he watched one of the World Cup’s defining moments unfold.
“That feeling, being part of something that big, has never left me,” the University of Missouri alumnus said.
The match ignited a lifelong fandom within Madden, rooted not just in the game itself, but in the shared experience surrounding it. Years later, his time at Mizzou helped him channel that early spark into a career built on connection, storytelling and community.
Today, that arc has come full circle.
While the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches will take place in select host cities across North America, Madden’s focus is on what happens closer to home in central Texas. As senior vice president of marketing for Major League Soccer’s Austin FC, Austin’s first major league sports team, Madden sees the tournament as a rare storytelling opportunity to reach people who may be encountering the sport of soccer for the first time, just as their interest is sparked.
“If the World Cup is the catalyst,” he said, “then our job is to help that curiosity grow into something that sticks.”
That idea serves as the foundation for Austin FC’s local World Cup plans. In one of the nation’s fastest-growing professional soccer markets, Madden and his team are preparing to host 39 consecutive days of World Cup celebrations throughout the tournament — including two days of festival-style events at Auditorium Shores, an urban park in downtown Austin, to open the tournament.
These free events are designed to bring upwards of 5,000 people together each day to watch the matches. As long-time Austin FC supporters stand alongside first-time viewers, Madden hopes the celebrations create the kind of shared experiences that turn curiosity into lasting interest.
A foundation built at Mizzou
From an early age, Mizzou was part of Madden’s story.
His grandfather, Jean Madden, was a Mizzou Sports Hall of Fame track and field athlete who later spent decades serving the university and the Mizzou Alumni Association. With both his grandfather and his father, Madden grew up cheering on the Tigers. By the time he arrived in Columbia as a student, Mizzou felt like a homecoming.
As a political science major in the College of Arts and Science, Madden initially imagined himself as a future speechwriter. But his interest in storytelling found a new direction after he began an internship with Mizzou Athletics.
Behind the scenes at the athletic department, Madden saw how storytelling could shape the way fans experienced a team. That realization helped clarify his path and reinforced the idea of stadiums as community gathering places, and sports as a way to bring people together.
It’s a lesson that now guides Madden’s vision for the World Cup.
For him, the goal extends beyond turning casual viewers into regular supporters of the sport. Drawing on his own family’s deep-rooted connection to Mizzou, he’s thinking about what fandom can look like years — even generations — down the line. He hopes the World Cup experience creates lasting memories and connections that people carry with them long after the tournament ends.
“The things people remember most aren’t the scores or the results,” he said. “They remember the people they shared those moments with, how it felt, the sounds, the emotion and the culture surrounding it. Sports are unique in that they create moments, whether we realize it immediately or not, that stay with us, become a part of who we are and get passed from one generation to the next."
