Soccer is indisputably the most popular sport in the world as it’s the national sport for many different countries – pulling in hundreds of millions of viewers for international events and having the biggest leagues like the Premier League at the forefront of competition too, and it’s only getting bigger. With a changing betting market in the US too with emerging legislation and a Pinnacle bonus code during registration available for a bonus too, the stage is set for soccer to become one of the major players in US sporting too.
In 2021, figures emerged suggesting that soccer was now the fourth most popular sport in the country having overtaken the NHL – whilst the sports on top in football, college football, and basketball are unlikely to be overtaken any time soon as their numbers keep growing too, there is a space for soccer to capture a bigger market yet. European leagues, particularly the UK Premier League are amongst the most watched in the US as support is growing following acquisition of rights to broadcast a large number of games – current figures suggest nearly 500,000 viewers per game for these Premier League, impressive for non-prime time viewing hours.
With the 2026 World Cup set to be hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico too this will only help the figures seen in soccer viewership grow too – with a big drive in the years leading up to the competition it will see hype build, and once the event gets underway particularly after this years 2022 World Cup helping grow those figures too, as interest grows it will see more broadcasting options emerge and may see more talent find its way to play in the US over time too.
As noted above the prime time viewing hours will continue to be something that is an issue, whilst the MLS is growing it does miss much of the international talent that makes many of the European leagues so exciting as the biggest players from countries all around the world help with representation, but as soccer continues to grow this may be something that quickly changes too. Other factors to be considered include the average viewing age too, stats suggest 70% of soccer fans in the US are younger than 40 years of age and may provide plenty of longevity if the younger audience continues to grow in soccer and shy away from other options.
It's an exciting time for the sport as a whole, and the World Cup will certainly play a huge role in the success too – soccer will likely only continue to grow but likely to stay behind the massive competition that still exists.
