America's soccer boom is building ahead of the World Cup
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The FIFA World Cup kicks off June 11 and will be played across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Why it matters: More Americans are tuning into soccer ahead of the sport's most prestigious tournament, with hopes that this summer will spark the kind of breakthrough interest the 1994 World Cup did the last time it was played on American soil.
State of play: 37% of people anticipate their interest in soccer will increase over the next 18 months, according to Nielsen data.
Context: Soccer was still foreign to many Americans in 1994. Now, people have local teams they support or they've started watching leagues in other countries.
- "People are willing to pay to see soccer," Wake Forest economics professor Todd McFall tells Axios. "They understand soccer. They've made soccer a part of their life."
By the numbers: It's not just the fandom side. Participation in the sport has also increased.
- Of the 5.6 million high school athletes who played sports in 1993-1994, 7.5% of them played soccer (421,711 boys and girls), according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations.
- As of 2024-2025, 10.6% of high school students played the game (877,956 out of 8.3 million).
- For ages 6 and up, more than 16.7 million people played outdoor soccer in the United States in 2025, Sports & Fitness Industry Association data shows.
Zoom out: Much has changed in the United States since the tournament took place here 32 years ago. Now there are several professional leagues for both men and women, more people playing the game overall, and more ways to watch the sport than ever before.
- "You have a market that's grown to where people can have real careers in our sport," U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson tells Axios.
- Major League Soccer — the nation's top men's league — began play in 1996 and currently has 30 teams. The league launched a third division affiliate in 2022 called MLS Next Pro, which also has 30 teams.
There are also multiple minor league divisions and two top-tier women's leagues. In the men's game, the USL Championship, a second division league, has 25 teams, while USL League One, a third division league, has 17 teams.
- USL plans to launch a first division men's league in 2028 called USL Premier. It also operates a top-tier women's league, Gainbridge Super League (formerly the USL Super League), which launched in 2024 and currently includes nine teams.
- The National Women's Soccer League has announced expansion teams in Atlanta and Columbus, bringing the league to 18 teams by 2028.
- "It's so easy to forget how scarce it was to play professionally at any level back in 1994," U.S. men's national team and Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream tells Axios.
Flashback: Ream remembers watching the 1994 World Cup as a 6-year-old. He's the only player on the current USMNT squad who can.
- When he was growing up, live soccer on TV was rare. Now, he says, nearly anyone who wants to watch a game can find a way to do it.
What's next: The upcoming World Cup runs June 11-July 19.
