DESPITE its name, the Copa America has never been played north of the Rio Grande before. On June 3rd the international soccer tournament kicks off in Santa Clara, California. Games will take place in ten cities across the country over the next four weeks. It is the latest effort to cement the sport into the mainstream consciousness. Soccer still lags behind America’s four leading sports: baseball, basketball, hockey and American football. But several measures suggest that the game is gaining ground.
Much of the hard running took place in the 1990s, when the successful hosting of the World Cup coincided with a surge of young players and the formation of Major League Soccer (MLS). According to a poll for ESPN, soccer has become the second-most popular sport for 12-24 year olds, after American football, and is the standout leader among Hispanics of the same age. Last year soccer-playing among boys in high school grew more than any other sport, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (perhaps capitalising on fears over the safety of American football, where numbers fell).
The success of the national...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/1XV7WRJ
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