When you go to bars or go barbecuing out with friends, sports would naturally be the topic of conversation. It’s almost inevitable to talk about sports, and most likely, the ones being talked about are basketball, American football, and baseball. These three are the most popular sports in America, and coming in at number four is none other than soccer. Are you surprised? Well that’s only natural since not a lot of spotlight is aimed at this particular sport, especially when compared with the likes of basketball or football. But being the fourth most popular sport in America still means something, and this begs the question, “Do Americans care about soccer?”

Popularity of soccer is growing in the U.S. but still lags behind other sports

Despite going up the ladder of popularity, from the number six spot to the fourth, soccer is still behind sports like American football, basketball, and baseball. If you would ask a random person about soccer, chances are they wouldn’t even be able to mention an American player and blurt out some random player’s name like Messi or Ronaldo, both of which aren’t even American soccer players. 

The reason why soccer isn’t as popular as other sports is because: 

  • People lack a historical connection with the sport
  • The market is flooded with the likes of football and basketball, both of which are more popular than soccer. This makes it harder for people to squeeze in the soccer, given that they’re already preoccupied with either of the two aforementioned sports

Luckily though, the women’s team have made headlines with their successful games at several World Cup tournaments. This seems to be enough to bring back the popularity of soccer to Americans and encourage youngsters to take part in the sport in their respective schools. 

Ultimately, this would result in more people being invested in soccer, paving the way for more talents in the sport to rise to the challenge and put the U.S. on the pedestal of the sport’s big leagues. 

The US women’s national team is taking the soccer scene by storm 

The US women’s national team has four Women’s World Cup titles won last 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019. Aside front the World Cup, they have also won four Olympic gold medals in back in 1994, 2004, 2008, and 2012. 

Lastly, these extremely talented women snagged nine CONCACAF Gold Cups. All these achievements led to the rise in soccer fans, and it makes sense since who wouldn’t be proud of having a national team bringing home a pile of wins for the country? 

The US women’s national team has only propelled since their first World Cup win. It’s rather thrilling to think of how many wins they’re going to snag from here on out. 

The current World Cup has set some pretty impressive records in terms of crowds 

According to Fox’s broadcast of the World Cup this year, views averaged at 8.306 million, and this includes viewership from digital, linear, and streaming platforms. The match between the US and Wales had an enormous amount of views during the final minutes, resulting in 9.434 million views. 

At the venue itself, crowds reached an all-time high of 43,418, almost reaching the maximum capacity of the Al Rayyan Stadium. This crowd record is for a match with the US team’s participation, as for the world-breaking record of crowds watching the World Cup regardless of which countries are participating, the Qatar World Cup is the clear winner. 

The Qatar World Cup 2022 reached an impressive 2.45 million spectators at the venue itself. This record comes in second to the 1994 World Cup, which respectively, had 3.57 million attendees. 

More people than ever call themselves soccer fans

32% of Americans claim to be soccer fans, and yes, this includes even the casual fans. These numbers have remained the same since 2019, meaning, despite of the pandemic, the number of soccer fans weren’t affected negatively, but this also means that there was no growth in these numbers. 

The majority of people who openly claim they’re soccer fans belong to the youth demographic (those who were born in 1997 or later) and are of Hispanic American ethnicity. 

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