Soccer In America

What do we think about when high-budget sporting franchises come to mind? Baseball? Basketball? Hockey? Although all of these might be valid answers to the question, soccer should also be added to the list.

Even if its North American glory days remain to be seen, soccer is known to have a loyal fan base across the globe. In turn, this is what marketers find attractive in this potential market.

show me the soccer money

Unlike baseball and hockey, soccer still has a long way to go in the minds of Americans. What is referred to as futbol in the rest of the world, is called soccer in America, since the name football already goes to the more aggressive sport.

This goes to show how the popularity -- and revenue stream -- of a certain sport dictates what sports fans will get to see more of. If team owners, general managers and sport promoters would realize that people want to see more soccer games and buy more soccer t-shirts, then they would give fans what they want. Why? Because that's what fans want to see? Because sport franchises will cash in on it? Yes.

Just think of wrestling with Vince McMahon's WWF (and superstars like The Rock), which is basically giving customers what they want: entertainment for a price. Whatever they want, McMahon will give it to them... and then some.

going against the grain

A difficult aspect in bringing a mainly European game into the American market, is the many barriers of entry -- especially the one that involves convincing the public that the American brand of the game is worth watching.

This virtually untapped market has a lot of potential in the years to come. Just like baseball and hockey that have been around for decades, bringing a new sport into mainstream acceptance takes years of work.

In recent years, the U.S. has become a very competitive market for sports. Many facets of the economy want a piece of the pie in the making of a popular sport. From Internet firms to equipment suppliers and professional teams, each industry wants to get in on the action in promising a new industry umm sport.

The Soccer Industry Council of America promotes soccer as the sport with most participants ranging between 18 and 20 years of age, with increasing popularity in local parks around the suburbs of the country.

Also, the sport does not discriminate because of gender, race and ethnicity, which only emphasizes the cachet of the sport in a country that strives on cultural diversification.

for all the people in the world

Italians, Germans, Moroccans, and Brazilians are only part of the spectrum of ethnics in soccer. Latin countries, especially South American ones, are a great target for the increased popularity of soccer, since these kids seem to be born with a soccer ball glued to their feet, the same way American children love to play catch.

At the moment, Hispanics represent about 12% of the world's soccer aficionados, being the fastest growing segment of the soccer population.

Although this cultural diversity poses itself as a great obstacle to the sport and its related business, it also offers an economic appeal to the game.

All the potential money being discussed and thrown around, raises the interest of sponsors, corporate money and participants, especially after 1999's Women's World Cup. Soccer, however, is not only about a woman running around with a sports bra after scoring the winning goal... Next Page >>