Soccer in the United States

The first "football club" in the United States was the Oneida Football Club of Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1862. It is often said that this was the first club to play association football (soccer) outside Britain. However, the "Oneidas" were clearly formed before the English Football Association; it is not known what rules they used[1] and the club wound up within the space of a few years. The first US match known to have occurred under FA rules was a game between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869, although these two colleges would soon become famous as early bastions of American football.

Early soccer leagues in the US mostly used the name football leagues: for example, the American Football Association (founded in 1884), the American Amateur Football Association (1893), the American League of Professional Football (1894), the National Association Foot Ball League (1895), and the Southern New England Football League (1914). However, the word soccer was beginning to catch on, and the St Louis Soccer League was a significant competition between 1907 and 1939. What is now the United States Soccer Federation was originally the US Football Association, formed in 1913 by the merger of the American Football Association and the American Amateur Football Association. The governing body of the sport in the US did not have the word soccer in its name until 1945, when it became the US Soccer Football Association. It did not drop the word football from its name until 1974, when it became the US Soccer Federation.

Professional soccer does seem to be expanding in recent years. In 1994 the World Cup was played in the United States for the first time winning the sport more recognition. In the 2002 World Cup the United States team did surprisingly well which also succeeded in winning more converts. Women's soccer is probably more prominent, and possibly more popular than the men's game, and the United States women's national team is one of the best in the world.

A number of American soccer leagues have been attempted, today the largest is Major League Soccer that has had some success, but is still remains relatively insignificant in the national sporting spectrum. Other leagues, such as the Primera División de México and the English Premier League, are highly competitive with MLS for fans.

The league structure of soccer in the United States is significantly different from that used in almost all the rest of the world, in that there is no system of promotion and relegation between lower and higher leagues. The playoffs employed by the leagues differ from most European championships, but are more popular in the Western Hemisphere.

Despite the U.S. teams' recent successes in the sport, its popularity still lags behind american football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, and even tennis. Among most Americans, there's a preference for high scoring, time-outs, and individual performances. Soccer is, however, gaining popularity among the younger crowd. Also, as Latin American and Eastern European immigration is rising, so is the popularity of soccer.

Sam's Army is the official fan club of United States soccer.

Soccer associations in the United States include: