Major League Soccer wants to be taken seriously, so it sold part of its newest expansion to Will Ferrell.

Even as the popularity of the world’s sport continues to grow in the United States, MLS has struggled to make inroads with the locals. 

That’s because the world’s best players are all overseas, mostly in Europe. A few aging stars have jumped the pond in recent years, but Americans still vastly prefer waking up early on weekends to watch the Barclays Premier League than catching MLS games in primetime. 

Still, MLS has grown enough in recent years to justify the addition of several expansion teams. New York City Football Club began playing in 2015, Atlanta United FC will kick off in 2017, and Los Angeles Football Club in 2018. On Thursday, MLS announced that LAFC had acquired a new co-owner: actor and comedian Will Ferrell. 

If you say so. It’s not unprecedented for celebrities to invest in professional sports teams (think Jay-Z and the Nets), and Ferrell is just one of 26 who are jointly buying the club. But for a league desperate to be taken seriously as a major player, this is the definition of mixed messaging.