The FIFA World Cup kicks off June 11 and will be played across the United States, Mexico and Canada, including at the temporarily renamed "Boston Stadium," née Gillette, in Foxborough.

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.

What's next: The upcoming World Cup runs June 11-July 19.

Get ready for the tournament by sending this to a friend

Boston is a soccer city — it just doesn't know it yet.

• A new analysis of five years of Google search data ranks Boston second-to-last in soccer knowledge among all 11 U.S. World Cup host cities.
• That's despite our pro soccer team, the New England Revolution, having played in the region for 30 years.

Why it matters: The World Cup arrives in Boston in just a few weeks.

• The city's search behavior suggests a large portion of residents could be watching soccer for essentially the first time, with very little awareness of what's happening on the field.

By the numbers: Action Network tracked 16 soccer-related search queries per capita across all 50 states from April 2021 to April 2026.

• Massachusetts scored the maximum confusion rating in every measured category.
• We don't know the rules, terminology or World Cup tournament format, but we came out at the top of the pack in our general curiosity about the game.

What they found: The most common searches from Massachusetts include how offsides works, how the World Cup format functions and why the sport is called football outside the states.

• Los Angeles, the most knowledgeable host city, ranked 17 times better on the index. Only Kansas City ranked worse than Boston, but there's no MLS presence there.

Inform a friend

🔒 Emajae Brown, 25, the suspect accused of stealing nearly $8 million in valuables, including gold coins and a Porsche SUV, from a Beverly waterfront mansion in March was indicted on 10 charges. (Globe)

• Authorities believe two people were involved in the break-in, but no additional arrests have been announced.

🎓 Harvard College has yet to announce its Class Day speaker with just nine days remaining before the May 27 ceremony.

• Usually, Harvard names the speaker in late April or early May. (Crimson)
• University-wide Commencement speaker Conan O'Brien was announced in early March.
• Harvard Business School has Mitt Romney lined up, and Harvard Law School named Mayor Michelle Wu as Class Day speaker.

🍦 Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, 78, dropped by Bella's Creamery at 652 Washington St. in Quincy for an ice cream cone, posing for a selfie with a store employee that drew more than 3,800 Facebook likes. (Boston.com)

👋🏼 Steph here. I finally stopped by Ama at The Atlas, the latest restaurant from the owners of Comfort Kitchen, and had some of the best pozole in my life.

• Imagine my surprise when they said there's more on the 16th floor.

Zoom in: Ama opened to rave reviews, but their rooftop cocktail bar, Foxglove Terrace, has mostly flown under the radar since opening this month.

• It's turning out to be a sleeper hit.

What I got: A gin drink called Black Moon Rising — a delightful mix with acidified raspberry, ruby port, sage and Atomic Black espresso liqueur.

Protip: If you inhale it like I did, it starts out a bit saccharine.

• Let the ice melt for a few minutes, and you'll hit the sweet spot.