Soccer simply was not an immediate hit among American sports fans and sport enthusiasts. It’s always been that way, but things in the past 7 years have drastically changed.
The World Cup is one of the most talked about events this past year of 2022, and the popularity of soccer in the US has increased significantly due to this event.
Even though it is not at the top of the list, soccer still pulls remarkable viewership and participation. Youth soccer is #3 as a youth sport practiced in the US and it is growing, nearly overtaking basketball.
There are many soccer leagues in the USA, such as the MLS, U.S. Soccer, National Women’s Soccer League and Concacaf and we’ll get to that.
Some of the best US players include: Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Cobi Jones, Michael Bradley, Christian Pulisic,Claudio and legendary Goalkeeper Tim Howard.
For nearly a century, we Americans have resisted the pull of soccer (unlike the majority of nations around the world); however, the sport has always had many active participants. Many people play as children well into their teens and beyond.
In the past 30 years or so, soccer and football tours has been rising in popularity–this is thanks mostly to the success of the US Women’s National Team and the sudden popularity of the MLS around the world.
Lastly some data: There are 112 professional soccer teams in the U.S. and add to that an additional 490 semi-professional clubs. This ranks the US #31 in the world for pro and semi-pro soccer activity… Not Bad! Also, Over 19,000,000 pairs of soccer cleats, 7,000,000 soccer balls and 850,000 pairs of Goalkeeper Gloves are sold in the US every year
Sports
