Another Bust for American Soccer

The failure of the U.S to land the World Cup in 2022 was just another chapter in the sad saga of U.S soccer.

The failure of the U.S to land the World Cup in 2022 this morning was just another chapter in the sad saga of U.S soccer. The hope was that hosting the World Cup in the United States and capitalizing on the improving U.S. soccer teams’ performance would do something Pele, David Beckham, the ’94 World Cup, and Major League Soccer have failed to do: make soccer popular in the U.S.

Other than the “soccer fever” that sweeps the nation every four years, I personally believe that soccer will never be popular in the U.S. The failure to convince FIFA was the final nail in U.S soccer’s coffin. The only hypothetical situation (aside from the United States winning the World Cup) that would make soccer popular in the U.S is, I believe, now unachievable. Had the U.S been able to land the World Cup, and the U.S team done well in it (i.e. not lose to Ghana in the first knockout round), and if Major League Soccer was smart enough to capitalize on the new fans, then soccer would have had a chance to convert my generation to the sport.

Now, soccer will have to wait 16 years, if not more, to have an opportunity to achieve popularity in the U.S. But seeing how the MLS completely failed to capitalize on the ’94 World Cup, lonely soccer fans desperately looking for someone to talk to about the game they love, should not get their hopes up. Don’t feel bad, at least you have an excuse to go to Russia in 2018…