Five Reasons why Soccer Will Continue to Gain Popularity in the US
Soccer on Storm
Fifty years ago soccer wasn’t in a US sports dictionary. Few Americans watched the sport and even fewer played. Today, things are different. In the next five to ten years, I believe we can expect soccer to take the lead in American athletics.
1. Increased ethnic population
There is no doubt that there is rapid growth of ethnic populations in the United States. According to an article from Four Square Church, racial and ethnic growth has made up over 90% of the population growth in the US. This includes the obvious Hispanic growth which accounts for 56% of the growth. This data is backed by the Pew Research Center which notes that there are now over 50 million Latinos residing in the United States. In addition to the significant Hispanic growth, the Asian population in America has grown by nearly 50% in the past ten years. The Wall Street Journal echoes these statistics which estimates that by 2040, Hispanics will comprise 50.8% of the total US population.
What does this mean? For nearly all of the rising ethnic groups, soccer (or football, as it is known in most cultures) is the primary athletic activity and spectator sport. This means there will be more Americans playing soccer both competitively and recreationally and even more people watching the game. The more people that support the sport, the more advertisers and sponsors will be attracted which will draw increasing amounts of revenue.
2. Decrease in the value of TV advertising
The value of TV advertising has greatly declined as many Americans (especially the Caucasian population) have learned to “tune out” TV ads. While the price of TV advertising continues to increase, the return for dollars spent is questionable. How does this impact soccer? The current popular American sports of football, basketball, and baseball revolve around TV broadcasting. It seems almost as if these sports were built for the TV as commercial breaks are frequent and comprise a great portion of total game time.
Soccer, on the other hand, has been able to draw revenue and popularity without the advertising and media space, other sports have. As the value of TV advertising decreases, the value of sports that depend on that revenue will also decrease.
3. Youth Soccer on rise
Now, more than ever before a huge percentage of American youth from all different demographic backgrounds are playing youth soccer. A generation raised on soccer will most certainly aid in the popularity of soccer in the US.
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4. Economy struggles
More and more Americans are facing financial struggle and playing soccer is simply more economical than just about any other sport. The lower cost of equipment reduces the overall cost of playing soccer recreationally and competitively. Football, for example is an extremely expensive sport and many are finding that the cost is not worth the benefit. This is true at many small colleges and universities who have chosen not to have football teams due to the tremendous cost. In its place, soccer has the opportunity to become the most popular sport in many communities.
5. Increased international success
Despite many setbacks, especially for the men’s national team, the US has gotten better internationally. This has in turn, increased the amount of support from American Caucasians, who traditionally have not followed soccer. International victories also increase the amount of media attention given to US soccer. Recent victories such as the Women’s World Cup wins or the men’s win against Spain in the 2010 Confederations Cup, has certainly helped soccer gain popularity. American’s are usually eager to support their teams playing in international contests.
The Future of Soccer in America
Who knows how much the power of soccer will impact the American culture, but there is not doubt that soccer is on the rise. More and more Americans are rallying around soccer the American national teams. Time will tell just how much of a storm soccer will create.
What Do You Think?
Is Soccer Gaining Popularity in America?
Comments
This is a great hub! It is backed with research. At the youth level, I have been sensing the rise of soccer. That is, during the past couple of months.
The same way that the US is a baseball and football country, my country is also a basketball country. Anywhere you go in the Philippines you will see basketball courts. Since the Philippine national team known as AZKALS became popular, the sport has also been growing in popularity. I have always been a soccer fan and encouraged my son to also give the sport a chance. The built of Filipinos is actually more suited for soccer where height is not a prerequisite. Am happy that soccer is gaining popularity in the US, too. Nice hub. Voted up and across, shared and tweeted.
Soccer never will be as popular in the US as elsewhere in the world, mainly down to the popularities of American Football, Baseball and Basketball....and it's not necessary a bad thing either...
Good to see the sport beginning the long-awaited takeoff in the USA. If that is true, the kids of today's youth may be the first generation to have a shot of winning the USA's first ever FIFA World Cup title!
Very interesting article and I agree. I also think that getting premiership and uefa champions league games on TV is helping the kids identify with the sport that they are playing. More and more kids are watching the games and discovering the beauty in the game and identifying with the stars. My son for one is constantly buying soccer cards on ebay and and is thrilled to open packs of champions league cards to find the likes or Messi and Christiano Ronaldo.I think we are at the beginning of a fundamental shift in the game of soccer in the U.S.
As a massive association football fan I want to see the sport do well in all countries and these are some reasons why it will continue to rise is popularity in the U.S.
Compelling article. I'm not sure that soccer is going to "take the lead in American athletics", but I agree with your reasoning. A very good article, sir. Thank you.
Interesting trend.
Some cogent reasons for the icnreasing popularity of the sport. I don't think that association football will become as popular in America as it is in the rest of the world. However, there's a chance that it could become a major sport - a respected alternative.
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