How Women Increased the Popularity of Soccer Playing in the United States

When we think of football – or soccer, like it’s called in some places, we think of England, Spain, Germany, France, etc. The football is pretty much a European sport, although South Americans might have something against this claim, since they also have strong leagues, like the Primera Division in Argentina or the Campeonato Brasileiro in Brazil and their Copa America is quite an important continental competition. Besides, they are also known for having some of the fiercest football fans and their street fights are as famous as those from England.

The truth is; you name a lot of countries before mentioning the United States of America. It’s just not their kind of sport. They have the MLB, the NBA, the NFL and the NHL and that’s about it. You won’t see soccer become a national sport any time soon there.

Now, let’s say you’re about to make a career-defining choice and you weren’t quite made to be a social worker. God, no, you make absolutely no chemistry with counseling – or psychotherapy for that matter. You just can’t see yourself talking with people about anything like that; it’s not your thing. How about choosing any of the careers in law enforcements? You have the body type of a police officer who could put down a few criminals without breaking a sweat, but no, you’re not interested in any of that. As a matter of fact, you have an inclination to become involved in sports. There’s nothing wrong with that, there are people meant to play on a field. But here comes the interesting part. You live in the USA and you want to be a soccer player! What? A soccer player? Since when? Doesn’t American Football sound better to your ears? No, you actually want to be a soccer player and you know exactly what it means.

Believe it or not, soccer suffered an increase regarding its popularity in the USA. And believe it even less, women are also in part responsible for that. In 1994, the United States hosted their first World Cup, leading to the creation of the Major League Soccer two years later. The signing of David Beckham by the LA Galaxy in 2007 helped further the reputation of this sport. However, the women are the ones who really put the USA on the map of football. Hosting two FIFA Women’s World Cups and being the best female national team in the world not only convinced the women to give more attention to this sport, but also the men, who by the way, aren’t that bad either regarding the FIFA World Rankings, being ahead of teams like Belgium, Venezuela, Nigeria or Czech Republic and occupying the position 34.

It’s interesting to see how women can make a difference in one of the least expected fields, which is clearly dominated by men. But they can play as good as them. Just check out this dribbling that would make Leo Messi proud: