I think the answer is yes. Here are three reasons why.
In 2017, soccer viewership ranks near the bottom of the barrel of American athletic/entertainment. There are other, more popular televised sports. But, on the other hand, close to 27 million Americans tuned in to watch the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
So will soccer viewership in America start to compete favorably with collegiate and professional sports? I think it will. Here’s why.
Courtesy: USAToday.com
1. Major League Soccer (MLS) continues to show financial, regional growth
There were only 10 MLS teams when the league was launched in 1993. Today the league includes 22 teams, including a number of large market teams–in Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, New York, and in several Canadian teams, too. In addition, the MLS has targeted markets with solid soccer fan bases (e.g., Orlando). While sustaining success is a question mark, signs point in a positive direction.
2. Addressing challenges associated with fielding teams with aging European stars
The MLS “gets it”: more locally grown players need to play starring roles on MLS teams. No longer viable is the long-standing tactic of signing former European stars who seek to finish out careers in the U.S. Examples include David Beckham, David Villa, Didier Drogba, and Kaka. That approach worked before, but it’s not sustainable–not when one of the biggest complaints about the MLS is the quality of athletes and of gameplay that many fans view as either “bad” or “boring.” Those things can happen with teams are full of aging stars. With that in mind, Kaka sent out a warning message recently to aging European stars thinking about joining the MLS: “Sometimes players come from Europe and they think that they’re gonna arrive here and it’s gonna be easy.”
3. Decline of NFL, MLB fan participation
Courtesy: stopcte.org
National Football League: Currently, the NFL is experiencing a decrease in attendance as well as in television ratings. Reasons given include political/social issues associated with the sport (e.g., “the Colin Kaepernick effect”). There are also continuing concerns about the impact of head injuries on players’ health, including CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). The most recent study showed significant signs of CTE in 110 of 111 players’ brains. Concerns about the connection between football and head trauma have trickled down to college, high school, and youth football, too.
Major League Baseball: Despite repeated attempts to market promising, upcoming stars in baseball, the sport is often seen by young fans as out-0f-step with contemporary tastes. So it’s not surprising to find that the average baseball fan is in his or her mid-50s. Younger fans gravitate to action-packed, high-intensity sports, such as basketball, football, and soccer. So even though MLB is second to the NFL in the amount of revenue generated in 2016, if young fans don’t replace aging fans, it won’t be long before media companies start shifting more attention to other sports.
