The World Game.
 
Football. Futbol. Fußball. Calcio.  Soccer, as we know it in North America, is played and watched by millions around the world.  By far the largest world-wide sport, the game has seen unprecedented growth in North America over the past decade. 

Six years after the formation of USL, the United States hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup.  Not only was this one of the most successful international sports competitions the world has ever seen, it created unprecedented excitement for the game in the country.  The sport was revitalized throughout all corners of the U.S. propelling the game to new heights.  Grassroots participation numbers rose, investment came into the sport, and American players were being recognized for their abilities on the international level.  It was a breaking point in the game that would explode soccer into the next century.

A number of variables have contributed to the development of the sport since.  Some of these contributions include stadium development, success of Men’s and Women’s U.S. National Teams, access to the sport on television with multiple  carriers, player development, rise in grassroots participation, and increased local and national media coverage. The Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association latest report on soccer participation in the U.S. estimates that there were 13,708,000 participants in 2007. 

In Canada, the sport has also progressed considerably. After a successful hosting of the FIFA U20 Men’s World Cup in 2007, Canada has seen the sport re-energized. Of the major contributing factors in the last decade, USL has played a significant role in the growth and development of the game in Canada.  USL and its franchisees have progressed the infrastructure of the sport with the development stadiums, players, media, and building the future of the sport in this country.  Canada has seen steady growth in registered soccer players.  The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) reported that 873,032 players were registered and affiliated with member associations of the CSA.

While the sport has come a long way since in the last quarter century, USL believes that the business of soccer in North America over the next decade will be appreciably advancing.  A larger and more sophisticated soccer infrastructure with more USL franchises, new state-of-the art soccer facilities, and evolution of player development is on the way.