| For many decades, soccer in the United States has | | | | success. The United States soccer team managed to |
| been regarded as a fringe sport, usually played only | | | | qualify from the early stages of the tournament |
| at amateur level. The enduring appeal of American | | | | before narrowly losing 1-0 to the eventual world |
| Football, Baseball and Basketball has ensured that | | | | champions Brazil. The decision to hold the competition |
| unlike in other parts of the world, soccer has not | | | | in the United States proved to be a good move as |
| developed into a major popular national pastime. | | | | record attendances demonstrated an interest in |
| There have been several attempts at reversing this | | | | soccer across the country. Major League Soccer: The |
| by enticing established global stars and securing the | | | | decision taken by FIFA to award the 1994 World Cup |
| FIFA World Cup in 1994. In the last few years there | | | | was given on the basis that a professional soccer |
| are positive signs that theses attempts may be | | | | league would be established in the United States |
| effective as the MLS continues to grow by signing | | | | soon after. In 1996 the Major League Soccer was |
| players such as David Beckham. The Early Years: | | | | formed to fulfil this promise. In the initial immediate |
| There is evidence to suggest that soccer was played | | | | aftermath of the World Cup the league sustained this |
| in the early parts of the last century in the United | | | | interest and attendances were good. However, the |
| States, but despite this, there was no professional | | | | national team's exit from the 1998 World Cup after |
| league established in the country until the 1960s. The | | | | losing all three games coincided with a rapid decline in |
| North American Soccer League was a product of | | | | the MLS fortunes. Dwindling attendances and a lack |
| regional interest in the game, in particular in areas | | | | of revenue threatened to prove that soccer had no |
| surrounding New York and New Jersey. During this | | | | future in the United States. Since the 2002 World |
| time, the most prominent club was the New York | | | | Cup in Asia, the MLS have recovered considerably. |
| Cosmos. It managed to attract famous global soccer | | | | The league began to develop a series of talented |
| players such as Franz Beckenbauer and Pele to the | | | | young players such as Landon Donovan and Freddy |
| club to try to encourage interest in soccer. However, | | | | Adu, who began to attract overseas interest from |
| despite the star names, the league failed to achieve | | | | the established European teams. In 2007 the MLS |
| this goal. Many of the players recruited by the | | | | introduced the Designated Player Rule that aimed to |
| Cosmos were regarded as players who had reached | | | | allow the teams in the MLS to compete financially |
| the end of their careers and simply were there to | | | | with Europe's top clubs for the world's best soccer |
| collect the money. The league eventually folded in | | | | players. This proposition allowed them to sign one |
| 1984 and the Cosmos followed a year later. The | | | | player each season with wages above the salary cap. |
| 1994 FIFA World Cup: Much to the disdain of many | | | | The best example of this to date is English soccer |
| soccer experts, the World Cup in 1994 was held in | | | | player David Beckham transferring to the Los |
| the United States. FIFA hoped that by showcasing | | | | Angeles Galaxy in 2007. The MLS has increased its |
| the game directly to Americans in their own country, | | | | appeal in recent years and its proponents now hope |
| many would develop an interest in the sport. The | | | | that many more world stars follow Beckham. |
| tournament as a whole was regarded as a great | | | | Livescore and iScores professional sports scores. |