History of Soccer

Soccer in American is by far one of the least popular sports in terms of media coverage.
It is as not as mainstream as say basketball, football or baseball. Despite this, soccer in
American is rich in history that most people are not aware of.

Click on a link to read on some history of soccer in America

Origins, 1609-1862 - Various forms of soccer-style games have been around since
Roman times, and the United States was the first British colony to start playing soccer-
style games... Read more

The College Era, and Rules Consolidation, 1862-1875 - Collegiate play resumed on a
regular basis after the Civil War. Rules varied widely among different schools and
communities; Princeton played with 25 players...Read more

The Working-Class and Immigrant Eras, 1875-1894 - After the demise of college
soccer, the game lay primarily in the hands of working-class communities, who were
rapidly adopting the game...Read more

The Doldrums, 1895-1913 - It was not long before the powers that be attempted to
follow on the ALPF's footsteps at a more financially responsible level... Read more

The First Dynasties, 1913-1921 - The ethnic influence affected the course of the game
through the early 1900's -- it was still clustered mainly in working-class communities
along the northeastern part of the United States.... Read more

The Golden Era, 1921-1933 - The 1920's were widely considered the first Golden Era
in American Soccer. With the founding of the American Soccer League in 1921, there was
finally a league with enough prestige to compete effectively for European players...Read
more

The Ethnic Period, 1933-1960 - After the demise of the first American Soccer League,
the game continued primarily on the semi-pro and amateur level, with many of the most
successful teams being tied to ethnic communities and service clubs...Read more

The 1960's: The Birth of the American Soccer Renaissance - The sport of soccer has
always had a strong base among ethnic communities throughout the 20th century, but
mainstream America largely ignored the sport...Read more

Outdoor soccer reaches a low: 1985 - The mid 1980s were a gloomy time for outdoor
soccer in the US. With the demise of the NASL in 1984, and the abrupt end of the United
Soccer League in 1985, only the Western Soccer League, which had just finished its first
season, remained playing outdoor soccer, with four surviving teams...Read more

The Road to the World Cup - US Soccer officials had for a long time seen the hosting of
a world cup in the united States as a last hope for establishing outdoor soccer in the
country...Read more

A Change in Fortunes, 1988 - USSF knew that it needed a major showcase event in
the US to promote the sport to the top level, and hence, it spared no effort in 1987-88
when it bid for the 1994 Cup...Read more

The Rebirth of Outdoor Soccer, 1988-1994 - In 1988, a group of US Soccer veterans,
led by Chuck Blazer and Clive Toye, established a new American Soccer League (the
third one) with the aim of re-establishing professional soccer using a financially
conservative approach...Read more

The Indoor Soccer Wars, 1990-1992 - The indoor soccer wars were starting to take
their toll by now. The MISL was increasingly challenged by a growing AISA and to ward
off further losses of star players, raised salaries significantly...Read more

The Road to World Cup 1994 - The US National Team surprised the world by qualifying
for the 1990 World Cup in 1989 by upsetting Trinidad & Tobago while on the brink of
elimination with an amazing victory at Trinidad...Read more

The World Cup comes to America, 1994 - The 1994 World Cup was, simply put, the
biggest event ever in American soccer. All eyes were on the US to see if they were
capable of hosting a world class event...Read more

From World Cup to Major League Soccer (1995-1996) - By 1995, there were major
changes occurring throughout all aspects of US Soccer. The National team had sent out
upon a program of building on the world cup success and preparing for the next step...
Read more

The new Golden Era of American Soccer, 1996-2004 - 1996 was the year of Major
league Soccer, which had a very successful first year. Although it was clear soccer had a
long way to go, the league drew much better than expected, quality of play was above
predictions and fan response was enthusiastic, and financial losses were less than
expected. ..Read more

The 21st Century: Heading Toward Dominance - The period from 2001-2004 saw a
number of positive developments for the American game. The Women’s United Soccer
Association was launched in 2001, and immediately established itself as the premier
women’s league in the world...Read more

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