G
Guile
Guest
May 26, 2010
Strong US interest in WCup
<!-- by line --> <!-- end by line --> First World Cup in US boosted football
* The 1994 World Cup was staged in the United States and launched Major League Soccer, a North American league that recently made Montreal its 19th club. Many teams have had 25,000-seat stadiums built to secure their financial stability. 'The first World Cup changed the landscape of the United States in an extraordinary way,' Mr Gulati said. 'It's a very large country. We don't need to rival (American football) to have a multiple increase.'
* England star David Beckham made a big-money jump to the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy and raised the league's profile for a time, although injuries dimmed the impact many hoped he would bring beyond the usual US soccer supporter. MLS this year increased the number of players that clubs can sign over the salary cap limit, opening the door for clubs with the money to try and sign top talent, a small step on the road to more Beckham-esque deals to improve MLS.
*America has changed with a growing Latin American population bringing a love for the sport and support for other lands, so much so that the Spanish-language US television World Cup rights for 2010 and 2014 were sold for US$325 million (S$458.9 million). The English-language rights went for only 100 million dollars.
*Manchester United, AC Milan and Chelsea are among the famed squads that have made profitable US tours to packed stadiums in their off-seasons, giving US fans a rare live chance to see their star players in their prime.
*European matches are much more available on the growing US television sports scene, with US World Cup telecasters ABC and ESPN promoting the event like never before on telecasts of NBA playoff games and baseball games.
* In addition to their June 12 World Cup opener, United States and England are competing to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. US officials estimate there are 90 million US football fans and expect one billion dollars of revenue in a US-hosted World Cup that can offer five million tickets to sell and 18 potential host cities. -- AFP
WASHINGTON - FOOTBALL has long struggled to gain a foothold in the crowded United States sports landscape, but heavy US interest in next month's World Cup could signal a long-awaited American breakthrough. US supporters edged England for the greatest number of World Cup tickets purchased by any nation other than host South Africa, according to organisers, and that trend began well before the US-England opening match was drawn.
'England might have the most popular team but, by far except for South Africa, demand for tickets for the World Cup from the United States is off the charts,' US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said. One major reason for the American boost comes from the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, in which the US side beat Spain 2-0 in the semi-finals to snap a 35-match unbeaten run and took a 2-0 half-time lead on Brazil before losing the final.
That success provided a sense that US talent could compete and beat the best in the world, luring some new fans and bolstering interest from the faithful. 'America loves winners,' US captain Carlos Bocanegra said. 'We're going to try to go down there and do something special.' Since Brazilian legend Pele played for the Cosmos in the 1970s in a bid to awaken US fans to global football, there was a sense the sport was on the cusp, the US sport of the future. -- AFP
