USA Soccer on the rise.

Most people say soccer is the most popular sport internationally except in the US. However, Interest in soccer within the United States has grown rapidly starting in the 1990s. This has been attributed to the fact that the 1994 FIFA world cup was played in the United States, the first time the event was held in the U.S. This won the sport more attention from both the media and casual sports fans. American soccer is now gaining popularity all over the country due to the arrival of superstars in the American League, the trail of success of the United States men’s and women’s national teams, and more youth sports organizations adopting soccer into their programs.

First, the Arrival of superstars in the American League helped to boost the Major League Soccer (MLS) and consequently, the soccer popularity in the country. The Arrival of David Beckham has clearly had a positive impact on soccer in the US. Not since the US Women’s National Team won the 1999 Women’s World Cup has the sport generated such mainstream interest. What has not received equivalent coverage is that before Beckham’s signing, soccer in the US – particularly Major League Soccer (MLS) – was at its strongest point ever and already poised for significant growth. Attendance is another area that Beckham has already impacted positively. The Galaxy has sold an additional 7000 season tickets since the Beckham signing – increasing revenue by $5 million compared to 2006 – and will almost certainly sell-out all of its post-Beckham arrival matches at the 27000-seat Home Depot Centre. Despite its worst ever start to a season, the team is averaging around 24000 per match, up 3000 on last season and top among the 13-team MLS (the league has averaged approximately 15000 per match over its first eleven seasons, well below its potential yet still ranking it among the top-12 leagues in the world). In fact the arrival of superstars to the professional soccer league in America brought not only more supporters to the ‘beautiful game’ but also, commercial impact and more revenues. Therefore, American soccer is now gaining popularity all over the country due to the arrival of superstars in the American League.

Second, the trail of success of the United States men’s and women’s national teams helped to gain a place in the American hearts. Unlike in most soccer playing nations, the growth of the women’s game in the U.S. has helped increase overall interest in soccer in the United States. Both the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cups were held in the United States, and the United States has emerged as one of the best national teams in the world. They are currently the ranked first in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, have won two of the five FIFA Women’s World Cups held thus far, and have also won gold medals in three of the four Olympic women’s football tournaments held to date. The crowd of over 90,000 at the Rose Ball for the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final remains the largest crowd in the world ever to witness any women’s sporting event. About the men’s national team, after hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the team proved its value reaching the quarterfinal in the 2002 World Cup and more recently, were Runners-Up at the 2009 FIFA Confederation Cup losing to Brazil. Such results describe before will certainly make more Americans to be keen on soccer. So, with the success of both men’s and women’s national teams, the US are taking a leap forward to make the sport popular in the country.

Third, more youth sports organizations adopting soccer into their programs. Until 1980s, most high schools did not offer soccer at all, and youth soccer programs were extremely rare until the 1970s. Thus, older generations of Americans living today grew up with virtually no exposure to the sport. In recent decades, more and more youth sports organizations have turned to soccer as either a supplement to or a replacement for American football in their programs. This is primarily for economic reasons, as cash-strapped programs find it more difficult to justify the high costs of American football, due to the large amount of expensive equipment required, while at the same time the insurance risks associated with American football are far greater. For instance, Bubba Hunt, the general manager of the Columbus Youth Soccer Club (CYSC), thinks that this generation of soccer players is the one to do it, too. In 1996, six years into Hunt’s youth soccer career, he noticed an increase in the number of kids playing in clubs. Hunt attributes this to the inclusion of soccer units in elementary school physical education programs. The U.S. Youth Soccer League, the largest youth sports organization in the United States, has noted a dramatic rise since it was established over 30 years ago: from 100,000 registered players in 1974 to 3.2 million registered players today. Despite the growth of men’s women’s professional soccer in the United States in the last few decades, by far the largest category of soccer in the United States, at least in terms of participation, is boys and girls youth soccer. Therefore, the rising of youth soccer clubs contributes to increase the soccer popularity.

American soccer is now gaining popularity all over the country due to the arrival of superstars in the American League, the trail of success of the United States men’s and women’s national teams, and more youth sports organizations adopting soccer into their programs. However, soccer in America still faces challenges in the US; particularly they compete in a crowded sports marketplace which includes the major US professional sports such Baseball, American Football, Basketball and Ice Hockey. Only with massive investment in the youth sport, soccer will move closer to becoming a ‘soccer nation’.