Growth of Soccer in America

The Rise of Soccer in America


Soccer has been the world’s game for longer than anyone can remember. Forms of the game have been played for at least 3000 years. Nations eat, sleep, dream, and, to put it simply, live soccer (or as any other nation would call it, futbol). How is it then that the people of the United States have whole-heartedly ignored this seemingly eternal pastime of the world? More attention is given to sports such as tennis, golf, and even NASCAR in the United States than what is given to Major League Soccer (MLS). The quality and popularity of this upstart league seams to be a type of applause-o-meter for soccer in America. As MLS goes, soccer goes. Success of a sport in America can generally be gauged by the attendance of its professional events. As attendance increases the amount of media coverage that it receives, and level of competition that it achieves, will also increase. This leads me to ask the question, “What are the consequences of increased growth, both in size and attendance, in Major League Soccer on the overall popularity of soccer in the United States?”
According to the league's website, Major League Soccer was officially announced on December 17, 1993 by World Cup USA 1994 Chairman and CEO Alan I. Rothenberg. This was in fulfillment of promises made by US soccer to FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) that they would have their own Division 1 soccer league either before the World Cup was held, or at the very least soon thereafter. The 1994 World Cup was held and turned out to be a monumental success. The success of the World Cup led directly to the foundation of Major League Soccer and the start of its inaugural season on April 6, 1996. MLS has had its ups and downs, which is to be expected with any type of new business, but from the 2002 World Cup to the present day Major League Soccer has begun to experience a season of growth. Both a steady stream of successful expansion teams and a healthy attendance rate amid rough economic times are seen as stepping stones to the future success of soccer in the United States.
Major League Soccer opened its inaugural season in 1996 with ten teams. In 1998 teams in Miami and Chicago were added to bring the total teams in the league to twelve. However, the league would go through a rough time as attendance numbers began to see all time lows. It seemed that the initial euphoria that came with the new league was beginning to wear off. The league was becoming like that new, anxiously awaited for toy that you got for Christmas. You played with it for a little while, but then the toy lost its appeal and you never played with it again. MLS was losing its appeal in the eyes of the American public, and due to the drop in attendance numbers MLS was forced to cut out the two teams based in Florida, the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the Miami Fusion. This brought the league back to its original ten teams and was considered a major regression for the future of the league. Attendance numbers were on the decline and the loss of the Mutiny and the Fusion was a big step backwards, but it has not seen anything but growth and expansion from that point on.
The 2002 World Cup brought new life to soccer in America. The United States team unexpectedly pulled out wins against traditional powerhouses Mexico and Portugal and advanced to the quarterfinals. The success of the United States on the global stage seemed to trigger a renewed interest in soccer across the nation. The average league attendance in 2001 was 14,312, and in 2002 it had risen to 15,822, an increase of 6% (all attendance numbers were retrieved from the official MLS website). The rise in attendance numbers was not dramatic, but it was significant in that the decline had been stopped and interest was back on the rise.
In 2005 the league expanded again from ten teams to twelve. Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA (Carson, CA) were added to the league and attendance numbers for Real Salt Lake were the second highest in the league at 18,037. In 2006, the San Jose Earthquakes moved to Houston, Texas and became the new Houston Dynamo. 2007 brought expansion beyond the American borders when Toronto FC became the thirteenth team in MLS. In 2008 the San Jose earthquakes returned to the league, and in 2009 the Seattle Sounders entered the league, immediately setting the standard for attendance with an average attendance of 30,943. With the 2010 season underway the Philadelphia Union are now the newest team in the league, and in 2011 the league will expand to a total of 18 teams with the addition of the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Since 2001 the league has seen a tremendous amount of growth, growth that is evident by the addition of 8 new teams located across the United States and Canada.
Since December of 2007 the United States economy has been in a state of recession (1). A recession is generally classified as a period of time when the GDP (gross domestic product), employment, household income, and consumer spending all fall while bankruptcies and the unemployment rate rise. One of the key indicators of a successful sport in America is the attendance that it receives at its events. From the time the league was organized until the time the recession was declared in 2007 the average attendance had risen from 14,619 to 16,770. From 2007 until the end of the last season in 2009 the average attendance has only dropped from 16,770 to 16,039. This dip represents a 4% decrease in attendance since the beginning of the recession.
MLS is not the only league that has been affected by the current economic crisis. In 2007 the National Basketball Association (NBA) posted an average attendance of 22,543. The attendance of the NBA dropped in 2009 to an average of 17,497. Over the same 2-year period the NBA experienced a 22% decrease in average attendance numbers. Additionally, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) attendance was down more than 2,000 fans a game, representing a 6.5% decline. The National Football League, easily the most popular league in America, experienced a record number of television blackouts that were a direct result of low ticket sales. Raymond Sauer, a professor of economics at Clemson said, “with the sudden emergence of the budget-conscious consumer in the midst of the recession, MLS was well placed relative to the big four professional leagues…the fact that the decline was so modest is another piece of evidence pointing to the long term growth potential of soccer in the North American market” (2). Major League Soccer has been able to withstand the effects of this major recession and will assuredly continue to see an increase in attendance when our nation comes out of its current economic crisis.
In order for a sport to be successful in America it needs exposure to the public. Access to media coverage is a crucial factor in increasing the popularity of Major League Soccer. Increased exposure of the sport by local and national media has brought even more success to MLS, and subsequently soccer in general. On March 15, 1994, MLS announced a three-year broadcast agreement with ABC Sports and ESPN that 10 games would be televised on ESPN, 25 games on ESPN2, and the championship game on ABC during the inaugural season. On November 17, 1999 the most comprehensive television package in the history of the league was announced by its new commissioner, Don Garber. This major breakthrough would feature “Soccer Saturdays” on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and a weekly highlight show on ESPN2.
The television contracts would begin to expand to other nations when on April 1, 2003 Fox Sports International reached a four-year agreement with MLS to nationally televise 25 regular season games and eight playoff games per season on Fox Sports World. This agreement would extend beyond American borders and would broadcast games in Latin America and the Middle East. On July 27, 2006 another five-year agreement was made between MLS and Fox Soccer Channel, which would include a Saturday night game of the week to be broadcast nationally. In addition to this announcement, on August 4 of the same year the league announced a new eight-year agreement with ESPN and ABC, an agreement that would include MLS Primetime Thursdays.
The continued agreements between nationally recognized sports media authorities, such as ESPN and ABC, ensured that MLS matches would be seen across the country. As the league progressed, the length of these agreements increased. Just as is the case with any long-term agreement, it was made on the basis of stability and future prospective growth. The 2007 season was the first in league history that saw every single regular season match televised live, and many of them were shown nationwide. It was also the first season since the league’s onset that television rights were sold to networks for a profit. Prior to this season MLS had paid to have its games televised.
The quality of the league was improving, and that quality was being recognized not only by television networks across America, but also by international networks. In 2008 MLS signed a new international television broadcast contract with MP & Silva through 2013. It was reportedly an eight-figure deal that would cover the “rights to all MLS games, tournaments and events, MLS Cup playoffs, and MLS Cup…” (3). As the quality and popularity of the league began to increase, the amount of media coverage that it received also began to increase. Not only was soccer gaining recognition in the American media, but it also began to garner attention internationally. The CEO of MP & Silva (an Italian based company), Carlo Pozzali, said that, “high profile, international players who were lured to MLS by the designated player rule have raised the international awareness and potential for popularity of MLS in international markets.” (3).
In an effort to increase the quality of soccer that was being played, and the level of competition in the league, MLS passed a regulation in 2007 called the “designated player” rule which has been nicknamed the Beckham rule. This rule allows each team in the league to sign one player whose salary would not count towards that teams salary cap. This rule allows teams to compete for the opportunity to sign lucrative top-tier international talents to their teams, players like David Beckham. These top players, the league hoped, would bring international attention to the league. In addition to raising the level of competition on the field, a number of these stars peaked the interest of soccer fans that had not yet bought into MLS. Followers of the European leagues would come to matches to see David Beckham, while those who followed Mexican leagues would come out to see Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Efforts to bring international flare, talent, and attention to the American people did not end with the designated player rule.
Not only did MLS attract individual players to the U.S., but it also began attracting entire international teams to come play exhibition games against MLS rosters. In the summer of 2009 four of the top soccer clubs in the world (Chelsea FC, AC Milan, FC Internazionale Milano and Club America) came to the U.S. in the first ever World Football Challenge. In six games in stadiums across the United States these exhibition games drew an average attendance of 56,136. The American people are ready for soccer. As MLS continues to grow the potential for soccer in the United States is limitless.
The expansion of Major League Soccer, both in size and attendance, increases the popularity of soccer in the United States, because MLS growth increases the demand for media coverage and improves the level of competition. The reason that Americans love football, basketball, baseball and even hockey so much is because when you go to one of those games you are getting the very best quality. MLS is a very young league, but as the quality continues to improve, and the league continues to grow, the popularity of soccer in the United States will continue to rise.


References

1. Isidore, Chris (2008). It's official: Recession since Dec. '07. CNNMoney.com. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/economy/recession/index.htm

2. Dyer, Kristian (2009). MLS remains well-positioned despite recession. ESPN.com. MLS Notebook. Retrieved from http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=687260&cc=5901

3. Mickle, Tripp (2008). MLS sells international TV right to MP & Silva. Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal. Retrieved from http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/61013