How popular is soccer in the USA?

37 comments

  2. Very popular, especially among young athletes. Generally kids play it until they either align themselves with another sport, assuming they continue their athletic pursuits. It’s behind American Football, Basketball and Baseball in terms of spectators though. I’m from the Atlanta area and we go back quite frequently. Those Atlanta United games are awesome, I think soccer is going to keep growing here.

  3. It keeps going back and forth with hockey to occupy the 4th spot in the list.

    And despite baseball’s best efforts to sabatoge it’s 3rd place spot, soccer has a *long* way to go before it breaks into the big 3.

  4. it’s growing rapidly in popularity. the MLS, the success of the USWNT, growing niche following of the English premier league, + a growing distaste for young kids playing football given what we know about how physically harmful it can be have all been contributing factors

  5. Less popular than it should be, if only so Europeans quit bitching and making fun of us about gridiron.

  6. Now that the PGA is blowing up, it’s probably the 5th most popular spectator sport and probably the 4th most popular to play recreationally behind golf, baseball/softball and basketball

  7. I say it’s steadily growing. The MLS and the Premier League have become more and more popular over the years, but it’s nothing compared to the NFL. It’s a sport I loved playing in middle school and high school but it’s not my top choice of sports entertainment.

  8. Not very popular as a spectator sport outside certain communities, but almost everybody under 50 played it as a child. This is the part lots of Europeans I’ve noticed don’t know yet. Americans might not follow soccer or know the leagues or players, but they all know how it works as a game and more have probably played it than say baseball or American football.

    EDIT: added “how” before works.

  9. Soccer has been the most popular sport for kids in the US for decades, but that has not translated into interest in professional soccer.

  10. It’s very very popular for kids to do as a sport in their k-12 years.

    It’s still more of a niche sport on the spectator level, but the popularity is growing. Our MLS is expanding and I think one day in the future it will change from being something of a “retirement league” for European players who age. There are also more and more Americans playing the major European soccer leagues such as Pulisic so Americans are becoming more and more aware about the sport and we also can’t forget about the fact that the Women’s national team is very very good.

    Soccer does have the potential to overtake ice hockey and baseball if they’re smart w their development, but I think it’s a stretch for soccer to ever overtake football or basketball.

  11. It’s probably around 4th or 5th for spectator sports depending on how you measure it. The NHL is certainly ahead of the MLS but that doesn’t take into account all the soccer fans who watch different leagues.

  13. How would you like this to be determined? TV viewership? Attendance at MLS compared to the other professional/college sports? Social media buzz rankings?

    It’s popular. MLS has done very well in many markets, but it’s far from the point where the best players or the teams are household names. It’s just too new of a league and doesn’t have mainstream broad appeal yet.

    I’m a big sports fan, I like soccer, I used to have season tickets to a USL team…I have no idea who any of the top 10 players in MLS are. Even after looking at the leading goal scorers, I’ve never heard any of those names.

    Something in the US (a sport, a musical act, an actor, a TV show…) can have tens of millions of fans and still be unknown to the vast majority of people.

  14. At least here in Louisiana, there’s a very sharp difference in soccer fandom between older and younger people. It’s become decently popular among younger people like myself over the last decade or so, but it’s still not entirely mainstream. It’s definitely more popular than hockey here in Louisiana, but that’s not a high bar to meet.

  15. Not very. MLS (Major League Soccer) is a thing, but it has nowhere near the level of popularity that football, basketball, baseball, and even hockey have.

  16. As a professional spectator sport, not very.

    As a sport played at the school and amateur level, fairly popular.

  18. as a sport for kids to play on their local or school team? very. as a professional sport to watch? eh

  19. Like others have said, Pro Soccer is a distant 4th in professional sports leagues. But, I’d wager every child in America is exposed to soccer to some extent, and far more kids become involved in children’s soccer leagues than many other sports. I spent my summer weekends as a kid going to soccer games and tournaments with my little brother. Right now my 3-year-old goes to soccer camp on Fridays. It just gets less popular as kids get older, as the best athletes might gravitate towards a sport that gives them a better chance at University scholarships.

  20. Some people like it and it’ll be on bar tvs sometimes, but you won’t hear “hey did you see the (insert soccer team) game last night?” like you will with football and basketball. My college’s city has a soccer team and it’s the first one I’ve ever learned about. It’s completely outshadowed by the college football scene here. The B1G teams are as popular as the NFL ones in many places. Soccer is the type of sport you need to seek out a community for. It’s just not ubiquitous with the local culture like more popular sports are.

  21. Depends at what level youre referring to.. everyone knows the game, a big chunk of the country plays the game, the problem is its not marketed as well as the top 3. Its always been seen as leisurely past time that wont land you a scholarship, sponsor, or a career in general and that might be down to capitalist culture that exists here like nowhere else. Make no mistake though people do love the game here and its growing. Our sports culture is always about being number 1, and it rattles a lot of Americans that we are nowhere near being number 1 at least in the mens game. On the womens side though thats literally THE sport to play and its reflected by how our national team performs. Once we get the mens national team consistently competing and eventually winning a world cup the sport will overtake a lot of traditional sports here. It will take time but I know we’ll get there someday. Hopefully within my lifetime.

  22. It really depends on where in the US and with what audience.

    It’s obviously popular with most immigrant communities and even 2nd/3rd generation people

    It’s more popular with the under 40 population. Some studies have shown it is the 2nd most popular sport for people under 25

    More popular in select cities/regions like the southwest, pacific northwest, DC usually has really high TV numbers for soccer. Less popular in the south where football dominates all and some midwest places.

    Less popular with boomers and strick traditionalist

    When considering all factors It’s probably 4th behind football, basketball, baseball and slightly ahead of hockey. However I think it passes baseball within a generation

  23. When I was in grade school it was all the rage to play on the school team.

    My state also has a community soccer division for kids. You just sign up, get placed on a team, and play. It’s meant to be non-serious so no tournaments or anything. You just get paired against a team and go.

  24. It’s growing in popularity as a spectator sport, but I don’t think it’s likely to crack the top 3. It’s just so much easier for stations to advertise during the top 3 sports that soccer has an uphill battle for exposure.

    Still, certain teams (such as the Portland Timbers) are actually decently popular, enough to sell out smaller-capacity stadiums at any rate

  25. It’s very popular. I do not understand why foreigners do not think it is, our Women’s Team keeps winning the World Cup for goodness sake.

  26. Culturally it seems like it’s more for kids/youths. Most don’t follow adult soccer. Obviously that’s not the case in immigrant communities.

  27. As a youth sport *extremely* popular. As a spectator sport played by professionals not very popular at all coming in at a distant fourth behind Football, Basketball and Baseball.

  28. In that middle ground between national staples (football, baseball, basketball) and virtual unknowns (cricket, rugby, polo)

  29. It’s gaining more popularity all the time. In areas with larger Latino and immigrant communities (broadly speaking, of course) it’s a bit more popular than in areas with fewer immigrants, but that’s a generalization, to be sure. Portland, OR (home of the Portland Timbers in MLS) has been “Soccer City USA” since the 70’s and Timbers fans are some of the most vocal and fervent in all of MLS.

  30. It’s popular as a child’s team sport, but beyond that I wouldn’t call it popular.

    I think the the general view is that it’s a child’s game, and what we typically see in the media is players “flopping” and it just looks ridiculous.

  31. As far as watching soccer, more people watch soccer in London than the entire United States.

  32. Yes but usually leagues outside of the US (mls), English Spanish and German leagues probably

  34. Not super popular but people do like it. I watch the Premiere League on the weekends with my husband. I don’t care what team is on, I enjoy it.

    I AM quite partial to Leicester City and Crystal Palace

  35. It’s more common for normal people to play than it is for normal people to watch it.

  36. Popular enough that it was the sport you generally were expected to play in grades 1-6. I played 1-4 and then switched to American football in 5th which was most my friends and my favorite to play.

    Had more concussions in snowboarding than I did in football or soccer. I think soccer is a great starting point for kids, teaches footwork, builds endurance and it’s very simple for young kids.

    There’s a reason we call mini vans a “soccer mom car”. Also just “soccer mom” is an adjective I think that was started here. Just means an active mom who’s typical suburban lifestyle fits into social norms.

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