Two of the greatest footballers ever, Johan Cruyff and Pele, played in the United States of America during the 1970s.
The 1994 World Cup was hosted by the US. Major League Soccer has welcomed some of the biggest names in the 21st century from World Cup winners to Ballon d’Or recipients. With Mexico and Canada, the USA will host the soccer World Cup in 2026.
Despite all of this, there are still concerns over the growth of the world’s largest sport on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Viewing figures are up, however, with a gradual increase in interest and the FIFA video game series growing in popularity, promoting the game and attracting new fans. Here are a few obstacles to making a real leap forward with soccer in the US…
Gap In Standard
Major League Soccer still lags some way behind European football. Like the NBA, NFL and MLB, MLS is run in its own bubble with strict salary regulations and a draft.
The downside to this, though, is that it puts it at a disadvantage to the rest of the world and, unlike the aforementioned leagues, it doesn’t have the benefit of being the best on the planet.
Attendances are pretty good, but it is in direct competition with the Champions League, Premier League, La Liga and the rest of the elite in Europe.
With a lot of Americans already loyal fans of European clubs – just look at the crowds for preseason tours – MLS is fighting a losing battle, and really is a way off being comparable to the top of European football.
While that’s not a barrier for every fan to become a devout soccer fan, it certainly doesn’t help when your ‘local’ product isn’t the best on offer.
The hunt for an American superstar continues, too. Landon Donovan filled his awards cabinet up in the US, and while he was hardly out of his depth in Europe, he was a long way short of Champions League standard.
After falling out of favour with Borussia Dortmund and off to a slow start with Chelsea, it remains to be seen if Christian Pulisic can be that star.
National team success would be a springboard. Perhaps that’s a longer conversation for another time, but the development of players who can become regular features in top European leagues is only going to help that.
For what it's worth, USMNT are 100/1 to win the 2022 World Cup in 888sport’s football betting.
Age & Quality Of Imports
Sebastian Giovinco tore MLS apart, and was a real coup for the league, attracting a big-ish name player in their prime. Yet his career in Europe wasn’t exactly Ballon d’Or winning stuff.
Frank Lampard, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, Steven Gerrard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been the biggest names to appear in MLS in recent years. To call it their twilight years, in some cases, would be rather generous.
Getting the names that soccer fans followed closely during their pomp is one thing, and it has certainly served a purpose, but for soccer in the USA to take another leap forward, they need more than that.
That opens up another debate about what the aim of MLS is - either to improve the national team or grow the sport.
Producing players, like Miguel Almiron, who can be real contributors to the top five leagues is a move in the right direction. While the current structure is in place, importing players from Europe in their prime will be almost impossible.
Competitive Market
America loves its sport. Successful at the Olympics, and with an unrivalled college system, no country is quite as sport obsessed as the USA.
That might sound like they’d lap up a new sport to get their teeth into, but it also raises an issue: it’s a very crowded market. College sports overshadow England’s highest attendances.
While it’s worth mentioning that well over 70,000 saw one of MLS’ biggest ever wins last season, as Atlanta United toppled Portland Timbers in the MLS Cup Final, the significance of college sports shouldn’t be overlooked.
It isn’t just the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL that MLS is battling with for a market share, they’re tussling with college football and basketball. College stars, readying for the draft, like Kyler Murray and Zion Williamson, are some of the most famous athletes in the US.
The regular season taking place between March and October gives a window for MLS action while the NBA, NHL and NFL are all out of season.
The MLS playoffs overlap with the MLB postseason, the start of the NBA and NHL, as well as the middle of the NFL season. Finding time in the sporting calendar for sports fans to focus specifically on Major League Soccer isn’t really possible.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Vera Nieuwenhuis / AP Photo*
