Expert Article Final

Is it Called Football or Soccer?

The Rise of Soccer in the U.S.

by Alexis Zamora

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last couple months, I’m sure you watched, or at least heard your friends mention, the World Cup. After a tie against Wales and England, a victory over Iran and a devastating loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16, the U.S men’s team ended its World Cup run. Even after the U.S. was eliminated, the World Cup Final between Argentina and France had nearly 26 million viewers in the U.S., the most watched World Cup Final in U.S. history.

Whether you call it football or soccer, there's no denying its growing popularity in the U.S. To avoid confusion with the most popular sport in the U.S, (American Football) I will be referencing it as soccer.

This article will explore the history, key factors for growth, challenges and future potential of U.S. soccer.

A Troubled History

Although soccer was broadcasted on television in the United States since the 1950s, coverage was limited. Throughout the 60’s and 70’s soccer gained more popularity from the North American Soccer League, but that went bankrupt in 1984. Soccer once again faded into the background.

A major question arises, was soccer unpopular because it was never on TV or was it never on TV because it wasn’t popular? (Confino)

With the rise of the M.L.S (Major League Soccer) the attention on the sport began to climb. Things looked great as the U.S. qualified for basically every World Cup from 1990 to today. Except for one. The 2018 World Cup resulted in the U.S. becoming the laughing stock of many of my friends. How can a rising scene fail to qualify for the most important tournament in soccer, played only once every four years?

Growth on the Pitch

Lots of factors contributed to the success of soccer in recent years. I listed a few below.

• Development of Professional Leagues
• National Team Success
• Increased Media Coverage

For starters, the U.S finally has a foundational professional league. The premier league of the U.S. is Major League Soccer (M.L.S.) It is the major feeder to the men's national team, making up 35% of the roster. Despite this, it's only been around since 1994. That means my older brother was born before this league. The M.L.S has grown from 10 teams to a mind boggling 29 teams since its start, far more than other top soccer leagues. This shows the continued investment and growth prospects of the sport as a whole.

I listed national team success as a major reason for the rise of U.S. soccer. As some of you may have noticed, the men’s national team has only reached the round of 16 in recent history. The truth is the women’s national team dominates the men’s in international success. They WON the Women’s World Cup in 2019, 2015 and placed 2nd in 2011. Let’s face it, everyone likes to win. So seeing the women’s world cup win slaughter the rest of the competition has brought a lot of attention to soccer in the U.S. In fact, the Women’s World Cup Final in 2019 was the second most watched U.S (English-broadcast) soccer match in recorded history with a peak 20 million viewers trumped only by the 2015 final’s at the time. This might seem like a loss of viewership but the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final also had to compete for viewers with the Men’s Concacaf Gold Cup final and the Men’s Copa América final. The scheduling of all three matches on the same day was ridiculous and disappointing (Hess.)

Over the last 20 years media coverage of soccer in the U.S. has grown by an enormous amount. Apple bought the rights to broadcast M.L.S matches for the next 10 years for a staggering $2.5 billion.It was “a historic day” for the league, which is set for a substantial increase in broadcast revenue and a new partnership(Tenorio and Stejskal.) ESPN bought the rights to the Bundesliga for $180 million for six years and La Liga for $1 billion for eight years. Paramount+ also made a three year deal with Serie A for $225 million and the Champions League for $450 million. The insane $2.5 billion deal shows that the worth of M.L.S. has been exploding and that investors like Apple see potential.

What's the Hold Up?

To play at the highest level (frankly anywhere near it) you have to play at a top tier club. This is expensive. When it comes to youth soccer opportunities, the U.S. lags the rest of the world. We are just structurally pushing aside kids who want to play a game that is accessible around the world to kids of all income categories (Blair.) I can attest first-hand that many of my friends stopped playing at the club level due to increased traveling costs and fees. Despite being young players full of potential, they didn't have the financial stability to afford it without drastic sacrifice.Club soccer can cost anywhere from $3000 to $5000 per year to play, which increases exponentially with more traveling.

Especially prevalent in the men’s soccer scene, the faces of the national team play in Europe. The domestic scene, although rising, is not anywhere close to the international scene. Players that want to compete at the highest level (pay and fame may play a factor) can not do so domestically. After all, people call the M.L.S. the retirement league, where aging stars seek a paycheck, not where rising stars prove themself. (Cardenas)

The End Goal

Soccer still has a long way to go in the U.S. before becoming a dominant sport. Football and basketball have a chokehold on sports viewership. With soccer being the most popular sport in the world, housing a massive 3.5 billion fans, the U.S. should aim to host a competitive soccer atmosphere. Being the co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup brings a golden opportunity for soccer to explode into mainstream culture. Fans from all over the world will come to see their favorite teams play, and the U.S. will get to experience first-hand what the sport has to offer. Soccer doesn’t have to replace football or basketball, it just needs more attention.

Sources:

Blair, Elizabeth. “Club Soccer Puts the Sport out of Reach for Many Kids.” NPR, NPR, 8 Dec. 2022,               https://www.npr.org/2022/12/08/1139902402/club-soccer-youth-pay-to-play-sports.

Cardenas, Felipe. “Don Garber Bristles at 'Retirement League' Label, but Aging Stars Still Serve a                 Purpose for MLS.” The Athletic, 2022, https://theathletic.com/3160005/2022/03/02/don-garber-                bristles-at-retirement-league-label-but-aging-stars-still-serve-a-purpose-for-mls/.

Confino, Paolo. “The History behind Why Americans Don't Play Soccer.” The NewsHouse, 12 July 2022,     https://www.thenewshouse.com/sports/soccer/the-history-behind-why-americans-dont-play-soccer/.

Hess, Abigail Johnson. “US Viewership of the 2019 Women's World Cup Final Was 22% Higher than the     2018 Men's Final.” CNBC, CNBC, 10 July 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/10/us-viewership-of-        the-womens-world-cup-final-was-higher-than-the-mens.html.

Tenorio, Paul, and Sam Stejskal . “MLS's Apple TV Deal: Here's Everything We Know about the $2.5             Billion Agreement.” The Athletic, 2022, https://theathletic.com/3365616/2022/06/14/mls-media-                rights-deal-facts/?access_token=12298483&redirected=1.