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It goes without saying that soccer is the most popular sport in the world.
And this week, esports came first in the United States, where the sport’s popularity finally seems to be picking up grow sustainably. This is good news for players of all ages, especially young athletes.
The United States is unique where women’s football is the crown jewel of American football. The team is considered the best in the world with four world titles. That’s more than any other country, with Germany being the only other nation with two championships to boast multiple titles.
Women’s soccer was pushed into the American mainstream in 1999 thanks to that year’s national team. History fondly remembers them as the ’99s.
The ’99ers won that year’s world title – their second after winning the grand prize at the 1991 women’s inaugural event in China. What made him so special? They lifted the trophy at home to a full house after a penalty shootout at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The image of Brandi Chastain celebrating on her knees, jersey in hand after scoring that summer’s winning goal became one of the most recognizable sports photos of all time. For weeks leading up to this moment, the nation was ecstatic about this championship team — and soccer exploded, especially for girls who grew up with the game in the ’90s (like me).
Almost 23 years later, professional football in the United States is as stable as ever. The National Women’s Soccer League is now in its tenth season and the players signed their first-ever collective bargaining agreement in January.
Gotham FC general manager Yael Averbuch West told me in April: “For the first time we can actually look and say, ‘OK, this is what the league is going to be like in three, four, five years – because we literally put it in a contract have what we never could before. There’s a lot of stability but allows us to think about the future and be really hopeful and excited about where things are going.”
That counts. Because when a game thrives at the highest level, you offer young players a visualization of what a future in the sport looks like. There’s still work to be done to make a game grow beyond that, but it’s a start.
In North Jersey and New York, Gotham FC is slowly growing the game by investing in an official reserve team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League and expanding youth clinics. Known as Soccertown USA, Kearny is now home to the recently formed Pro-Am women’s team Paisley Athletic.
At all levels of the game, from youth to pro and in between, the game is growing.
There was plenty of football news to get involved with this week. The women’s national team has released their summer roster for international friendlies and the CONCACAF W Championship. On the men’s side, the national team is gearing up for the Men’s World Cup later this year in Qatar, just as Major League Soccer and Apple have announced a historic global media partnership set to begin in 2023.
On Thursday, the world tuned in to see which cities in the United States, Mexico or Canada would host the 2026 Men’s World Cup – and we now know that MetLife Stadium will be the stage for some of the tournament’s games.
That’s important – because as we saw with the ’99s, when the World Cup comes to town it has the potential to change the way football grows. And while 2026 is still four years away, the world has plenty to see in the meantime of international football. This fall, the Men’s World Championship will be held in Qatar, and next summer, the USWNT will compete for the fifth title in Australia and New Zealand.
The world is watching – along with the next generation of gamers.
Melanie Anzidei is a reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the latest news, subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @melanieanzidei