Two Teams, Two Legacies: What Makes a Soccer Nation? Pt. 2

 


When it was announced that the United States would host the 1994 World Cup, it was quite shocking. First, there was no stable professional soccer league in America.  There have been several attempts to capitalize on soccer in the US, but none of them really caught on or were poorly managed. Plus, the United States did not have a global presence in international soccer.  Before 1994,  the men's national team was nearly invisible on the world stage.  The USMNT went 40 years (1950-1990) without qualifying for a single World Cup. When it was announced on July 4, 1988, it was announced that the United States would host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At that point, they had not qualified for a single World Cup since 1950. The US beat out Brazil and Morocco, and it only took one round of voting, with the US receiving a little over half of the votes from the FIFA Executive Committee. FIFA hoped that by granting the United States the opportunity to host the most prestigious international competition, it would lead to the growth of interest in the sport.  The decision to make the United States the host nation for the upcoming tournament was controversial, especially compared to more established soccer nations. However, given the success of soccer at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which attracted 1.4 million spectators, FIFA was optimistic about giving the U.S. a chance. 

But there was a catch–In order for the United States to host the World Cup, it needed to create and develop a professional domestic soccer league. At that time, the North American Soccer League, founded in 1988, folded in 1984 after attendance dwindled.  While NASL folded and ceased operations, it did help set the foundation for Major League Soccer. MLS was founded in 1993 and opened its first season in 1996.   

The question leading up to the World Cup was whether Americans would show up to a sports tournament dedicated solely to soccer. Well, the answer became clear once the tournament was underway: soccer can work in the United States. Not only did it have massive ratings, but it also generated massive crowds. To this day, the 1994 World Cup remains the most attended tournament in World Cup history, with 3.5 million+ selling out NFL-sized stadiums. 

It's been nearly two decades since the U.S. hosted the World Cup, and now, 32 years after the first time the U.S. held the tournament, they will get another chance this summer. This time, the U.S. will share hosting duties with Canada and Mexico. This will be the largest World Cup in history, with 48 countries expected to compete for the most coveted prize in international soccer.  The question isn't whether the US is the right choice to host the soccer competition, but now how can the US live up to it, particularly the USMNT. 

While soccer has grown massively in the US since the 1994 World Cup, MLS is still standing strong thirty years later.  The question leading up to the tournament is whether the USMNT has grown at a similar rate. Can the USMNT take soccer in America even further than past generations?


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