subject: History Of Soccer In The United States [print this page] Even though soccer isn't THE sport in the US, the history of soccer in US is one of the longest around, directly next to that of the English or the Scottish.
After the English set out to develop a set of rules for the game of soccer, these were quickly taken to the new World, where Americans came to love this rising sport. Actually, the American Football Association is the 2nd oldest sports league in America, next to the Major League Baseball one.
Obviously, the history of soccer in US didn't start with a professional league though (when it comes to what we call professional today). The American Football Association, started out in 1884, was a semi-professional competition including New England and certain Midwest areas and it was a rather chaotic environment to play soccer in, but nevertheless, it was there and advancing with every year.
A parallel soccer organization, the American Amateur Football Association was founded around the exact same time and the 2 coexisted until 1913, when they merged into the US Football Association, the first completely professional soccer organization throughout the history of soccer in the US.
The US football association (or USFA) was among the first to join FIFA and as such, the United States team participated in the early World Cups, although the game was beginning to become outshined by baseball or basketball.
With American football likewise on the rise, the organization adopted a new name to eliminate any confusion and named itself the US Soccer Football Association. However, the US soccer history would quickly witness a new change in its governing body's name in 1974, when the USSFA dropped "Football" from its tag and rather used the title of United States Soccer Federation, which is nevertheless used today.
Many will wonder, if the history of soccer in US began so early, how come soccer isn't the main sport in USA? Actually, the fact is that the rather modest performances from the men's national side early on in the 20th century, merged with the high rise of baseball, basketball, football and hockey, would mean that the nation soon lost interest in soccer and since American children had so many alternatives, soccer slowly went out of fashion.
Nevertheless, with the increasingly good performances from the US men's soccer team and the big success of the women's soccer team (who managed to bring in the first trophies in the history of soccer in US and is nevertheless certainly one of the world powers in the game today), soccer is rising back to its rightful place and with more and more American kids favoring it in school as a start-up sport, things look bright for the future of US soccer.
