The United States will make its debut as a football capital in the coming years with the Copa América, the starting point of the country’s big investment in a sport to which it has historically opened few doors.
The continental tournament, the oldest in the world between national teams, will be the first of the major events that will take place in the USA in the coming years, with the FIFA Club World Cup in its new format in 2025 and the 2026 World Cup, which will country will organize jointly with Canada and Mexico.
The USA, which will also host the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, faces a decisive period in its strategy to consolidate men’s soccer, as both the league and the women’s team have been a reference at a global level for several years.
The cycle that will be opened by the Copa América (June 20 – July 14) had an unexpected preamble with the arrival of Argentine star Lionel Messi at Inter Miami a year ago.
Messi’s move put MLS on the global football map and sparked interest in football in the world’s biggest sports market, but so far no other major international star has gone down the same path.
MLS continues to grow as it fights to shed the “retirement league” label. ‘Messimania’ fills stadiums across the country and contributed to the competition breaking its attendance record last season.
The most coveted market
Abroad, the USA is a priority market for major world teams, who wish to take advantage of the boom experienced by football, favored by migration and demographic changes.
Several teams, especially Latin American ones, are welcomed with full stands in dozens of friendlies that take place year after year in the country.
Furthermore, the biggest clubs in the world reserve large spaces in the pre-season calendar for their fans in the USA, such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, who will play their third consecutive “Summer Classic” in August.
The next step in this strategy could be the organization of national league games, as the NBA and NFL do in other countries.
“By 2026, football will be the number one sport in this country,” predicted FIFA president Gianni Infantino on a visit to New York two years ago.
The challenges to overcome with this goal are colossal. ‘Soccer’ continues to have great difficulty gaining space in sports media coverage in the USA, where the powerful American football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey leagues are dominant.
However, all of these leagues, except for baseball, will be in off-season while the Copa América will travel to 14 stadiums across the country.
With more than a million tickets sold for the tournament, which will be held in its second edition in the USA after 2016, football doesn’t want to let its great moment pass by.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
