Major League Soccer: a growing international force?

The Atlantic Ocean is what separates Europe and the vast expanse of land known as the United States of America, and for many years this division was seen in the world of sport.

Whilst Europe remained “football (soccer) crazy”, the biggest sports in America were “football”, basketball, baseball and ice hockey – or simply ‘hockey’ as they call it.  The NBA (National Basketball Association), MLB (Major League Baseball) and the NFL (National Football League) were amongst the biggest and wealthiest sporting leagues in the world, and despite not being huge in Europe and Asia, these sports have gained recognition as some of the most loved internationally.

However, as Bob Dylan once sung “The times they are a-changing”, and a new sport has emerged over the past decade which has captivated Americans world wide: Football (Soccer).  Major League Soccer is the fastest growing league in the world, and so here at The Sports Lowdown, our writer, Dan Culyer, assesses the emergence of the ‘beautiful game’ in the US and predicts how popular the sport can one day become.