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THE SOCCER IN THE USA

First of all, Football is the most popular sport in the world. It was created in the 19th century in England by English academics. After a multitude of years, it has conquered the whole world and almost every continent of the globe. 

However, Football is not present on one continent: North America. Under the impetus of the United States, football, which is called soccer, has had difficulty making a place for itself in an already crowded American sporting landscape. Throughout the year the sports, calendar is full with basketball, American football, baseball and ice hockey. It is in this context that soccer has had to make a place in the American sports world.

As said before, soccer has been imported from Europe and it first attracts European expatriates living on American soil. The strong Mexican community present in the United States has also participated in the development of soccer made in USA. 

Professionalization

The development of sport in the United States received a boost in 1993 with the creation of Major League Soccer (MLS). This is the official professional league that brings together clubs from the United States and Canada. 

Nowadays, MLS has 26 franchises (23 American and 3 Canadian). Based on the model of American sports, soccer is divided into two associations, East and West. The championship is divided into two parts. A regular season that qualifies the best teams for the play-offs. At the end of the play-offs, two teams share the long-awaited title during the championship final.

Unlike Europe, MLS is a closed championship. There is, therefore, no risk for franchises to go down to the lower division. This moderate risk is leading investors to become increasingly interested in this championship. For example, David Beckham has set up his own club that will enter the league in March 2020: « Inter Miami ». He has even built a 19,000-seat stadium that will emerge just before the championship resumes.

For many years, many players at the end of their careers in Europe have tried to make the transition across the Atlantic. Players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney have contributed to the development of soccer.

The craze 

From a fan prescriptive, the passion of this sport has also been growing rapidly for years. Numerous groups of fans have emerged. The European model with active fans during the match has been copied for a better atmosphere in the stadiums. Unlike other American sports, some soccer fans try to be more than just spectators and they actively participate in the atmosphere to cheer on their team.

However, we are still far from the atmospheres known in some European or South American stadiums. The clubs encourage the formation of groups of supporters, they have understood that this could help the team. As on the pitch, MLS is also making progress in the stands.

The new market

For the past few years, North America has been a favored continent for European professional clubs to do their pre-season tour. Asia and North America are the two continents in full development in terms of football. A club like Paris Saint-Germain has even opened academies in Los Angeles and New York. The French professional football league is even going to play its next championship trophy in the United States. This was already the case in North America in Montreal in 2015 between Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain.

In the pre-season, the most important clubs in the world come to participate in tournaments on American soil. This is an opportunity for them to develop their brand internationally but also to meet their fans already present in the USA.

New York, land of soccer

In 2016, to symbolize the rise of soccer in the United States, two Frenchmen launched their five-a-side complex (Soccer 5vs5) already well known in Europe. As soon as it opens, their centre explodes in attendance. No more slots are available to play.

A city like New-York is in shortage of soccer pitch. The clubs even go as far as reserving fields of five over 5 years to receive their licensees.

This business is very lucrative, they will create 2 new centers in New York. Their goal is to open about 15 centers throughout the United States, the demand is so strong.