Soccer is perhaps
the most iconic sport in the entire world. It is something of a universal
language that transcends all boundaries of culture. I can say from experience
that there are few ways one can communicate fluently with someone of another
language or culture, but sport is one of those ways. When working with children
in the country of Guatemala, I found it to be nearly impossible to communicate
verbally with them because I was not well versed in their language. It was not
until we got to play soccer with them that I was able to interact with them in
a way that felt impactful to both them and me. Something else that I found
interesting was that there was no competition or debate as to what we were
going to play. Soccer was the only option for these kids, and if they did not
feel like playing they just sat on the sidelines and hung out with their
friends. You would be hard pressed to find a group of elementary school kids in
the U.S. that would all be in favor of playing a game of soccer, without some
bickering about another sport being tossed into the mix. During each of my
interviews I asked a question about sport in the country that the interviewees
are from and what the most popular sport is in their countries. In all three
cases, soccer was in the top two most popular sports. This was not necessarily
surprising to me because I am well aware of the lack of popularity of soccer
here in the U.S. This got me thinking about why it is that people are so much
more passionate and enthusiastic about soccer in foreign countries. According
to Footballers and Businessmen by Steven Tischler “football’s popularity among
different social groups over time owes much to basic sporting principles”.
There are many plausible explanations for this, but there must be a main thread
or something that foreign countries have, whether it be cultural or otherwise,
that boasts the popularity of soccer among the locals. It has been established
that soccer is much more of a phenomenon everywhere else in the world except
the U.S., but there are two main countries that seem to have a special bond
with the sport that is especially unique. England is iconic for their soccer,
or football as they call it over there, and have some of the world’s most
passionate and loyal fans. South Africa has a very different relationship with
football. In South Africa the terms football and freedom are somewhat
synonymous because of the role soccer played in the freeing of many from the
Apartheid rule. By looking at the cultural effects of football in these two
nations and comparing them with the U.S. it should become clear as to why the
popularity of soccer is still in its adolescence here in the U.S.
England was the very first country to have
established the playing of modern football. In 1863 the English Football
Association (EFA) was founded and was the start of the largest sport in the
world. There have been many claims by nations such as Greece or Rome that they
were the first to play soccer but it is very well accepted that England was the
first to institute the playing of football in public schools way back in the 19th
century. The EFA was very influential in the development of the game when it
came to establishing the rules and regulations involved. With this unfair
advantage it could explain why the English national team is always among the world
elite. Many things have changed since 1863 and many things have stayed the
same. England is also the birthplace of the one of the world’s oldest football
clubs (Sheffield F.C.), the oldest national governing body (The Football
Association), the oldest national elimination competition (the FA Cup) which is
still around today, and the oldest national league (the Football League).
England is also home to the English Premier League (EPL), which contains
several of the world’s top clubs, and is followed by fans all over the world
including me. Football is a very important asset to the English economy as
well. The EPL is one of the richest sports leagues in the entire world.
According to ESPN, in total merchandise sales, two teams from the EPL are among
the top 3 worldwide. This makes football of very high value when it comes to the
English economy and there is no doubt that football plays a key role in the
wellbeing of those living in England. Today, English football has grown to
contain over 40,000 association football clubs and has more clubs involved in
the code than any other country.
As mentioned
before, South Africa has a special relationship with football and the birth of
football in that country is one that is both eye opening and humbling. South
Africa was colonized by the English and the Dutch in the seventeenth century.
When diamonds were discovered in 1900 the English invaded the Dutch which
sparked the Boer War. Following independence from England, there was an uneasy
power struggle between the two groups until 1940, when the Afrikaner National
Party was able to gain a strong majority. Members of the National Party
invented apartheid as a way to cement their control over the economic and
social system. The purpose of the apartheid was to maintain white domination
while extending racial separation. In an article by Nicholas Griffin it says
“Much attention has been paid to President Nelson Mandela’s role in South
Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup triumph. But Sean Jacobs, a Cape Town native,
historian, and author, describes that tournament as “a blip” in the history of
racial conflict. “The real story,” he says, “is soccer”.” The story takes place
on Robben Island prison camp where after many years of petitioning, prison
authorities finally agreed in 1967 to let the inmates establish their own
soccer league, the Makana Football Association. After years and years of
arduous waiting and hoping, the imprisoned oppressed had a small but important
victory in regaining any resemblance of freedom. The thought rang out that “if
we can run a league in these extreme conditions, then maybe we can run a
country.” There was still a long road ahead for those imprisoned on Robben
Island but the fact remains that soccer was not only a sport but also a symbol
of freedom for the oppressed. For anyone who watched the World Cup 2010 in
South Africa it was impossible to ignore the passion and emotion that was
shared by everyone during every match and was perhaps one of the more fitting
venues for such a spectacle to be held.
Soccer in the
U.S. was founded in 1913 as the United States Football Association and was one
of the world’s first organizations to be affiliated with FIFA, soccer’s world
governing body. Though it does have a relatively early birth, soccer is very
low on the list when it comes popularity here in the U.S. Even Wikipedia cannot
get excited about it. According to Wikipedia, “soccer in the United States is a
popular spectator sport for certain demographics”. This is a stark contrast to
that of England and South Africa. The United States does have Major League
Soccer (MLS) as a first-division league but is more of an afterthought for
spectators who would much rather enjoy a football or baseball game. However,
with arrival of foreign superstars like David Beckham and Thierry Henry, soccer
is beginning to gain some ground on other competitive sports. In 2012
attendance reviews show a higher per game attendance for the MLS that
basketball and ice hockey. However, MLS is much younger in comparison with
countries like England and is doing surprisingly well in terms of attendance
for its youthful state. Soccer did not really begin to show rapid growth in the
United States until the 1990s when the 1994 World Cup was held in the U.S for
the first time ever. Men’s national soccer continues to do its best to progress
at a steady but slow pace and has struggled to place high in any of the recent
national competitions. However, U.S. women’s soccer is a very prominent world
power and was in fact runners up the most recent women’s World Cup. This can be
attributed to the fact that women’s rights have been around for much longer in
the U.S with women still not being allowed to participate in many of the
popular sports in countries all over the world.
In conclusion, it
is clear that people have an emotional connection to athletics, and athletics
play an important role in any culture. Sport provides an outlet for many people
to get away from everyday stresses and gives them something to look forward to
each week. In England people find football to be the favored pastime and treat
it with reverence and loyalty. This is not too dissimilar to the way Americans
view baseball. The U.S. also carries many other sports that vie for fan’s
attention, this is not to say that England does not either, but soccer is such
a spectator sport that it demands attention and it is built up in such a way
that it cannot be ignored. In the United States, soccer is just another
sporting event to watch on the television. Whereas, in England football is like
a religion and people follow it and treat it as such. It is not rare to see
fights breaking out in the stands and fans cussing and players from opposing
teams with true passion and feeling. In South Africa soccer has such a profound
beginning and is rooted in the very fiber of modern South African culture.
South Africans view soccer as a saving grace that has given them the ability to
live and to choose. This sort of emotion is not something that can be
manufactured and is it not something that can be duplicated or hyped. It is
highly unlikely that soccer in the U.S will ever reach that level of reverence.
In general sport plays a very pivotal role in societies everywhere, and more
specifically soccer or football ranks among the top in worldwide attention.
However, in the U.S. the popularity of soccer is lacking, and when comparing it
with two juggernauts of soccer in England and South Africa it is not very
difficult to see why. Soccer is a very emotional game, anyone who has played it
before can attest to that fact. The players share an emotional connection with
the fans and because of this the fans are as much a part of the game as the
players. Without an emotional connection, fans will not go out and see the
matches. The U.S simply lacks that emotional past that is shared by England and
South Africa. As a result, it is very easy to see why the soccer in the U.S. is
a struggling phenomenon and will continue to be. I hypothesize that this will
remain constant unless there is a dramatic event that shifts national attention
in the direction of the American soccer. Without an event, the popularity of
soccer in the U.S. will continue to pale in comparison to countries like
England and South Africa.
