Soccer in the United States
Soccer in the United States is
governed by the United States
Soccer Federation. The
organization governs most
levels of soccer in the country,
including the national teams,
professional leagues, and the
amateur game with the
exception of college and high
school soccer. As of May
2015, over 24.4 million
people play soccer in the
United States. In 2012, the
U.S. Census Bureau reported
that soccer was the third-most
played team sport in the U.S.,
behind only basketball and baseball. The popularity of soccer in the U.S. has been growing since
the 1960s and 1970s, and received a significant boost when the United States hosted the 1994
FIFA World Cup and 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Soccer is the most popular sport in the
United States after American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey, and soccer is the
fastest growing sport in the country.
The highest-level men's professional soccer league in the U.S. is Major League Soccer.
MLS began play in 1996 with 10 teams, and has grown to 22 teams (19 in the United States and
3 in Canada), with further expansion planned. The MLS season runs from March to December,
with the regular-season winner awarded the Supporters' Shield and the post-season winner
awarded the MLS Cup. With an average attendance of over 20,000 per game, MLS has the third
highest average attendance of any sports league in the U.S. after the National Football League
(NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), and is the seventh highest attended professional
soccer league worldwide.
The first women's professional soccer league in the U.S. formed after the success of the
1999 Women's World Cup. The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) ran from 2001–
2003 and featured many of the World Cup stars, including Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers and
Brandi Chastain. Its successor Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) ran from 2009–2012.
Currently, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is the top professional league in the
country and was formed in 2012. The most recently completed 2017 season was its fifth. The
NWSL season runs from spring to early fall (typically April - October).
U.S. soccer fans also follow the U.S. national teams in international competition. The 2015
FIFA Women's World Cup Final drew a record 26.7 million viewers, greater than final games of
the 2014 World Series or the 2015 NBA Finals, and the 2010 Men's World Cup final drew 26.5
million viewers. The women's national team has won three Women's World Cup titles and four
gold medals at the Summer Olympics and the men's national team had played in every World
Cup from 1990-2014.
Beginnings
There has been some debate about the origins of modern soccer in America. It has long
been held that the modern game entered the States through Ellis Island in the 1860s. However,
2013 research has shown that soccer entered America through the port of New Orleans, as Irish,
English, Scottish, Italian and German immigrants brought the game with them. It was in New
Orleans that many of the first games of soccer in America were held. The origins of the game in
general trace back to ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, or China. It is difficult to say for sure which
country was the true origin.
Oneida Football Club has been named as the first association football club in the United
States but there is still discussion on what rules the club used, and it broke up within the space of
a few years. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the club is often credited with inventing the
"Boston Game", which allowed players to both kick a round ball along the ground, and to pick it
up and run with it.
The first U.S. match known to have been inspired by FA rules was a game between
Princeton University and Rutgers University on November 6, 1869, which was won by Rutgers,
6–4. The FA rules were followed in the Princeton–Rutgers contest: participants were only
allowed to kick the ball and each side had 25 players. Other colleges emulated this development,
but all of these were converted to rugby by the mid-1870s and would soon become famous as
early bastions of American football.American Cup. For the first dozen years, clubs from New
Jersey and Massachusetts dominated the competition. It would not be until 1897 that a club from
outside those two states won the American Cup. Philadelphia Manz brought the title to
Pennsylvania for the first time. Due to conflicts within the AFA, the cup was suspended in 1899,
and it was not resumed until 1906.
American leagues vs. European leagues
The overall league structure in the United States is significantly different from that used in
almost all the rest of the world, but similar to that used by other American team sports leagues, in
that there is no system of promotion and relegation between lower and higher leagues, but rather
a minor league system, generally the same as almost all other top-level pro sports leagues in
North America. In addition, teams playing in American soccer leagues are not private clubs
founded independently of the league that join a league in order to ensure regular fixtures, but are
instead usually franchises of the league itself.
Finally, the soccer leagues in the United States also incorporate features common to other
American sports leagues, most notably the determination of champions by playoffs between the
top teams after the conclusion of a league season. MLS formerly had a balanced schedule and
prior to then used an unbalanced schedule. However, due to MLS's recent expansion, the league
has returned to an unbalanced schedule.
However, in several ways, American soccer leagues have become more similar to leagues
in the rest of the world in recent years. MLS and USL now allow games to end in ties, which
were initially avoided via a penalty shootout if scores were level at the end of play. This was
done to avoid alienating mainstream American sports fans, who are not accustomed to tie games,
but actually had the unintended consequence of alienating soccer purists who saw the change as
an "Americanization" of the sport. MLS began allowing ties in the 2000 season.
Additionally, MLS and USL now use upward-counting clocks that do not stop for
stoppages in play, and instead add on time before half time and full-time. A downward-counting
clock that stops for dead balls and ends the game when it reaches zero is still in use in American
high school and college soccer, as well as most other American sports, but was and is completely
foreign to soccer played outside the United States. MLS adopted the international clock in 2000.
Finally, until 2007, the front of teams' shirts in MLS and the USL did not bear advertisements, as
commercial uniform sponsorship is uncommon in American sports. However, starting in the
mid-2000s, clubs were allowed to accept corporate sponsorship on the front of their shirts.
Youth soccer
The largest category of soccer in the United States in terms of participation is boys' and
girls' youth soccer. Soccer is one of the most played sports by children in the United States. In
2012, soccer was the #4 most played team sport by high school boys, and soccer overtook
softball to become the #3 most played team sport by high school girls. As of 2006, the U.S. was
the #1 country in the world for participation in youth soccer, with 3.9 million American youths
(2.3 million boys and 1.6 million girls) registered with U.S. Soccer. Among girls, the U.S. has
more registered players than all other countries combined. The number of high school soccer
players more than doubled from 1990 to 2010, giving soccer the fastest growth rate among all
major U.S. sports. In recent decades, more youth sports organizations have turned to soccer as a
supplement to American football and most American high schools offer both boys and girls
soccer.
Americans between the ages of 12 and 24 rank professional soccer as their second favorite
sport behind only American football. Though organized locally by organizations all over the
United States, there are three main youth soccer club leagues working nationwide through
affiliated local associations. The United States Youth Soccer Association boasts over three
million players between the ages of five and 19, while American Youth Soccer Organization has
more than 600,000 players between the ages of four and 19.
