Last week, Nu Stadium achieved another historic first by hosting its first-ever conference. From Sept. 23 through 25, Soccerex – the leading global fútbol business platform connecting the worldwide fútbol industry through events, strategic relationships, and year-round business opportunities – housed its annual flagship global gathering at the Club’s state-of-the-art new home.
As fútbol’s influence across North America accelerates ahead of a transformative era for the sport in the region, Soccerex Miami 2026 convened senior executives, investors, clubs, leagues, federations, brands, media groups, technology companies, rights holders and commercial stakeholders from across the international game in one of the world’s fastest-growing football markets.
Soccerex Miami 2026 kicked off with special opening remarks from Inter Miami CF and Nu Stadium Chief Operating Officer, Brandon Briggs, welcoming attendees to the historic first conference at Nu Stadium.
“Today marks a special day as we welcome the global fútbol industry and Soccerex… This is a new and unique opportunity for us to share our vision for our club, the vision and the future of MLS and our club, and how we see fútbol for the remainder of the world. Everything you see today in our stadium, on our jerseys, and throughout our facilities is based on a simple motto, ‘Freedom to Dream’… our ownership was clear about something. We were going to be recruiting and bringing in the best players from around the world, and the team would become the focal point of fútbol for this region in the world. We believe that we’ve done that with a team that’s won five trophies in the past four years…
Miami truly is one of the fútbol capitals of the world and what we believe to be the fútbol capital of the United States, and we feel that we’ve played a meaningful part in that, and we’ll continue to do so. Ultimately, our next step is joining Soccerex and bringing in the global fútbol industry to come here to build and develop relationships, do something special and shape the future of this industry,” stated Briggs.
The multi-day gathering featured industry-leading panels, curated networking, strategic business meetings and high-level programming designed to facilitate meaningful partnerships, drive measurable outcomes and accelerate opportunities across the global football landscape.
Amongst the world-class speakers were newly appointed Inter Miami CF and Nu Stadium Chief Revenue Officer Iñigo Aznar, Royal Caribbean Chief Marketing Officer Kara Wallace, and Nu Global Marketing Director Kim Farrell, who were part of the “It Starts with Ambition: How the World’s Game-Changing Brands Create Fans, Redefine Experiences, and Scale Globally” panel.
“The ambition of our ownership is incredible. A lot of their vision is focused on winning. Leo Messi is helping us to catalyze everything big time. So first you bring the greatest of all time, you bring other very good players, then you win five trophies in seven years, then you increase your fan base, and you reach globally, then you manage to get great partners like Royal Caribbean and Nubank and increase your revenues… And by increasing your revenues, you reinvest them in infrastructures like this amazing stadium, and back in the team, so we can keep on winning. We’ve been in that cycle since day one. This is our vision,” highlighted Aznar about Inter Miami’s success since its inception.
“Dreaming big is part of our ethos. It’s part of Inter Miami’s ethos. It’s a powerful vision and ambition for the future where anything is possible. I think that is core to Royal Caribbean as it is for Inter Miami. That’s really what solidified us in this journey together,” said Wallace about the partnership between Inter Miami and Royal Caribbean.
“I’m especially excited about the work we’re doing with Inter Miami in communities around the world. Over the past few years, we’ve partnered on World Ocean Month, coral restoration and youth clinics at the destinations we visit including Jamaica, Peru and Argentina, with The Bahamas coming soon. Community service may not be the most visible part of our partnership, but it can be the most meaningful. One of the best examples of this is our Make-A-Wish event, which we’ve hosted together for the past three years. It truly is an incredible day that brings joy to children and their families, as well as to the players and coaches, and reminds us that these moments are about something bigger than ourselves.”
“Nu started very humbly as well 13 years ago in Brazil with the mission of fighting complexity and empowering people through their finances. Our founder asked this question at the first event that I was at with him. ‘Can you raise your hand if you love your bank?… It was really this idea that your bank should do more for you. And so Nu was really founded around this idea of doing that for people, that people deserve better banking. Our products, our business model, are all about being able to deliver back to the customer…
Inter Miami is so much more than fútbol matches. It is an entire community, an entire movement, a global brand, a global community of fans. And that just really aligns with the mission of Nu,” expressed Farrell about Inter Miami and Nu’s partnership.
Housing Soccerex Miami 2026 adds to the diverse portfolio of events hosted at Nu Stadium in its inaugural year. Since opening its doors in April, the versatile venue has hosted a historic sold-out Haiti-Peru match in June that marked the first-ever international friendly at the Club’s new home, had Carin León perform at the first-ever concert at the venue, hosted KidSuper’s Spring/Summer 2027 Runway Show, and most recently was announced as the host venue for the Final phase of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2027™.
Additionally, Nu Stadium was also one of the protagonists in an action-packed summer in which Inter Miami’s facilities – including the Florida Blue Training Center and Inter Miami CF Stadium as well – were the most utilized facilities by national teams. A total of 13 national teams, including 11 participating nations in the historic FIFA World Cup 2026, leveraged the Club’s world-class facilities to prepare for the global stage since June 1. Read more about Inter Miami’s record-setting summer hosting national teams HERE.