Soccer And The History Of Soccer In The United States

Soccer has a important place in the history of several countries. It is the most popular sport in the world. I will be exploring soccer’s place in American history and how it has been growing in America throughout the years. I will explore how soccer got to America and how it has spread across the nation. These questions and more will be answered as I explore soccer in America.

The origin of soccer in America has long been disputed. Some say that it was brought to America by immigrants. People claim that it was brought by the settlers of Jamestown, New Orleans, and Ellis Island. However, there is another reasonable source that people have discovered. It is have been revealed that the American Indians used to play a game similar to modern soccer called Pasuckuakohowog. It literally translates to “they gather to play ball with the foot”. In Pasuckuakohowog, there were goals that were a half-mile wide and a mile apart from each other. Games involved up to 500 people and were very dangerous. Records show that the game was played in the 17th century. This could prove that Pasuckuakohowog is what started it all for soccer in America.

In the 19th century, soccer started to come to life in America. Some colleges started to play the game in the 1820s, with the first contest taking place at Harvard in 1827. Then, a huge invention took place in 1855. That year, the Charles Goodyear soccer ball was invented. Charles Goodyear created these soccer balls with vulcanized rubber. 12 years later in 1867, soccer took two huge steps. The first standardized soccer rules were published that year. Now, graduates from different schools could play together and had proper rules to follow when playing a game. But later that year, another just as, if not mor...

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...nged other soccer leagues in Europe as well the struggling NFL. The ASL’s stars would eventually lead the United States to a third-place finish in the very first soccer World Cup in 1930. Soccer almost became a major sport in the USA. But, just before the 1930 World Cup, disaster struck. The ASL clashed with the USFA (United States Football Association) because the ASL wanted to use rules that were never used before in soccer. The ASL was eventually brought to an end in 1933. Although this was a big tragedy for American soccer, it has started to show signs of life again. Soccer has started to gain popularity again, with top players from around the world playing in America’s MLS (Major League Soccer), and many fans cheering on MLS teams and the USA national soccer team. If this continues, then, maybe one day, American soccer will return to its illustrious golden age.