Popularity of Soccer in The United States
Leagues outside the United States and international soccer have also become more popular in the last decade, largely due to increased television coverage of soccer from around the world in the United States. In addition to increased coverage from the traditional media, the U.S. has several national networks devoted mostly or completely to covering the sport. Soccer-specific channels like Fox Soccer and its spinoff channel Fox Soccer Plus (the latter not exclusively devoted to soccer), Gol TV (available in both Spanish and English), beIN Sport USA (also available in English and Spanish), Spanish-language channels like Telemundo, Telefutura, Galavisión, ESPN Deportes, Fox Deportes and mainstream sports networks ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, and Fox Sports Net provide weekly coverage of England's Premier League, Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A, Germany's Bundesliga, France's Ligue 1, the FA Cup, the Football League Cup, the Football League Championship, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the CONCACAF Champions League, the SuperLiga, CONMEBOL's Copa Libertadores and many more competitions. The most widely accessed televised league in the United States is Liga MX, Mexico's First Division, which has most of its games televised live and most for free on over-the-air television channels Azteca America, TeleFutura Telemundo and Univision. MLS has increased its access as its popularity continues to increase and signed a three-year deal with NBC Sports to nationally televise 40 matches per year, primarily on the NBC Sports Network, that will include pre- and post-game coverage. In addition, these networks also provide coverage of the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA European Football Championship, Copa América, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the FIFA Confederations Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, United States men's, women's, and youth national team matches when these events take place. The Mexico national football team is also a very popular team featured on Spanish language television and draws sold out crowds in stadiums in the United States. Finally, in addition to matches, these channels provide news programs and other information previously unavailable to U.S. viewers. The rise of these media outlets means that soccer fans living in the United States now have near constant access to programming about the sport in a way comparable to those living in Europe or Latin America.
The English and Spanish-language telecasts of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final combined to attract an estimated 16.9 million American viewers, comparable to the average viewership of the 2005 World Series. Interestingly, Univision paid more than three times as much for the Spanish-language television rights for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups as ABC paid for the English-language rights to the same competitions. In 2007, the CONCACAF Gold Cup attracted record television viewership, and in the case of one particular group stage match, it was the most-watched primetime program on any network that night among 18-49 males. The Univision telecast of the final between the United States and Mexico was the third-most watched Spanish-language program of all-time in the United States, beaten only by two FIFA World Cup finals matches.
Increasing numbers of Americans, having played the game in their youth, are now avid spectators. Soccer is popular primarily in warmer climates of the US where winter sports are not followed due to lack of interest, thus giving room for soccer's attention. Most cities with MLS teams have large fan bases, and cities with USL teams have support on par with minor league teams in other sports. In addition, as Latin American immigration increases throughout the entire nation, so does the popularity of soccer.
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. Simultaneously, with increased urbanization, American high schools have grown to the point where most offer both sports in their fall sports seasons. Due to the rising number of youths playing, the term soccer mom is used in American social, cultural and political discourse, broadly referring to a middle- or upper-middle class woman working and having school-age children.
With careful cost controls, soccer-specific stadiums, and limited expansion, some MLS clubs became profitable for the first time in the mid 2000s, and Forbes magazine found that three clubs were already valued at $40 million or more, with the Los Angeles Galaxy worth $100 million. The league's 2007 and 2009 expansion to Toronto and Seattle, respectively, have proven highly successful, with league-leading ticket and merchandise sales, capped by a sold-out attendances for friendlies against Real Madrid of Spain and Chelsea of England. In addition, the 2009 World Football Challenge drew large crowds around the country. Chelsea's four-game stint in America drew record crowds for a visiting foreign team.
The United States has also shown a heightened interest in international soccer. UEFA Euro 2008 was highly successful, especially for a competition that did not feature the United States or David Beckham's England. The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Final featuring the United States attracted almost 4 million viewers on ESPN, making it the fourth-most-watched U.S. men's national team game in the history of the network. The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal matches drew over 82,000 to Cowboys Stadium. In addition, the 2010 UEFA Champions League final was broadcast live on the Fox Network, marking the first time in history that a match between two European club soccer teams was televised on American English-language broadcast television.
Landon Donovan's dramatic game-winning goal against Algeria that advanced the US team to the knockout stage of the 2010 World Cup resulted in jubilant celebrations across the United States and may lead to increased popularity of soccer in the nation. Also the 2010 World Cup final game between Spain and the Netherlands drew 24 million people in the United States for viewership. More recently, the US played twice in East Rutherford, NJ, drawing 77,000 fans in attendance each game.
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