The Current Global Soccer Landscape (and why does it feel unequal?)

 

Soccer is the number one sport in the world–approximately 240 to 270 million people play "the beautiful game" worldwide. FIFA, the governing body of soccer, established the first World Cup in 1930 in Uruguay. It took 61 years for the women's game to receive the same recognition worldwide. The women's game has seen significant strides in the last thirty years, including the creation of a women's sports league in Europe and in the USA.

As someone who has grown to love soccer since I first watched the 2010 World Cup, I have especially grown to love the women's game because it's fun to see the United States dominate at a sport where we call it soccer and everyone else calls it football. Watching both the men's and women's international soccer, I can't help but notice some disparities that I find intriguing. First, Europe is big when it comes to soccer, and so is South America. However, while Europe has seen successful women's national teams, like Germany, the same cannot be said for South America. The talent is present, but the infrastructure is lacking. On the flip side, The United States is not typically recognized as a soccer country like Brazil or England, but it has excelled in women's soccer, winning four World Cup championships. This blog will delve into these observations in detail.

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