Messi comes to Maryland: Baltimore makes its MLS debut with more soccer on the way
By Anika Stikeleather
Ronaldo or Messi? Baltimore has its answer.
On Saturday, over 72,000 fans visited M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to see Argentinian captain Lionel Messi score the deciding goal in Inter Miami’s 2–1 victory over D.C. United.
D.C. United leadership moved the game to Baltimore to better accommodate Messi’s global draw — a decision that also marked the club’s first step toward expanding its involvement in the city in the coming years.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott was in attendance at what he declared “BMore United Day” during a Feb. 12 press conference with D.C. United CEO Jason Levien.
In the same press conference, Scott announced plans to establish a major league professional women’s soccer team, a minor league men’s team and youth soccer academies in the city.
“D.C. has always been a huge market, if you look at the numbers of people who watch the World Cup, who watch the Premier League, who watch the NWSL championship games,” said Kate Yanchulis, assistant director of the University of Maryland’s Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism.
Baltimore is part of that fanfare, Yanchulis said.
Last December, the university welcomed Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer, to the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center for the 20th annual Povich Symposium centering on soccer’s growth in the U.S.
“I kind of look at these great moments as milestones for what everybody who cares about the game has been dreaming of, which is establishing our country as a true soccer nation,” Garber said during the symposium before the World Cup Draw.
See scenes from Baltimore’s latest soccer milestone below.
Fans file into M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore after kickoff on the evening of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. Fans enter M&T Bank Stadium along W. Hamburg Street before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A young fan walks to M&T Bank Stadium with an Inter Miami Pink bow and glitter before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. Young fans approach M&T Bank Stadium filming and cheering with “La Banda del Distrito,” a D.C. United supporter group founded by Latinos in 2017, on March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A member of “La Banda del Distrito” bangs a drum while chanting outside M&T Bank Stadium and entering with fans before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A group of young Messi fans plays football in parking lot C outside M&T Bank Stadium before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A group of young Messi fans plays football in parking lot C outside M&T Bank Stadium while a single boy plays with a soccer ball before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. Vendors sell jerseys outside M&T Bank Stadium as fans enter after kickoff on the evening of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A member of “La Banda del Distrito” outside M&T Bank Stadium as red smoke flares go off before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather.
This is something that should be continuous. I’m sure if Baltimore got an MLS team, they will be just as excited as they are about the Orioles and Ravens. – Charlie Sweney, a Columbia, Maryland resident, who has worked at M&T Bank Stadium for a little under a decade.
Fans run across Russell Street outside M&T Bank Stadium just after kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. “La Banda del Distrito” and other fans chant outside M&T Bank Stadium, waving flags before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A fan holds up a D.C. United scarf before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026, outside M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A “BMore United” billboard outside M&T Bank Stadium on the evening of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A fan entered M&T Bank Stadium wearing Baltimore native Angel Reese’s signature shoe on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. “La Banda del Distrito” and other fans enter M&T Bank Stadium waving D.C. United flags before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. A young fan looks up at the outside of M&T Bank Stadium after getting out of a car stopped in traffic outside the stadium a few moments after kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. Baltimore law enforcement patrols the outside of M&T Bank Stadium on the evening of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. The game plays on a screen at the entrance of M&T Bank Stadium on the evening of March 7, 2026, seen through the Audi logo. Photo by Anika Stikeleather. Fans wearing Argentina kits leave Camden Station on city buses on the evening of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather.
Featured Image: A young fan holds up a Messi Inter Miami flag while entering M&T Bank Stadium before kickoff on the afternoon of March 7, 2026. Photo by Anika Stikeleather.
