In a week where Montreal Impact put one foot in the CONCACAF Champions League final and Minneapolis were confirmed as the 24th addition, you would think MLS could not be stronger.
But that’s not the case according to San Jose Earthquakes founder Milan Mandaric.
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| Mandaric has sold his stake in Sheffield Wednesday this year |
The former Portsmouth and Leicester City owner says he was a pioneer for soccer and that it will still take ‘a long time’ to convert North America.
“The Americans have their favourite sports: [American] football, baseball, basketball and hockey. That's 95%; the other sports share 5%,” he told the BBC.
“The other reason is the media. Here, you guys played football when you were younger, so you understand what good football is.
“When I was in America the media was only interested in how many beers George Best drank, rather than how well he was playing.”
Best joined the Earthquakes in an era when some of the greatest names of the sport headed Stateside, aiming to crack America.
Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and even the late Bobby Moore joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 1970s, as they entered the twilight of their career.
And some would argue that is all the likes of David Villa, Kaka and others are doing today but what has changed is the reception to the sport.
The NASL ran from 1968 to 1984 but attendances never peaked above an average of 15,000 because as Mandaric said, fans followed other sports.
Fast forward to 2011 and soccer has broken the big four stranglehold, with average match attendances surpassing those of the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball League (NBA).
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| Pele led a raft of stars to the North America Soccer League |
While the number, now at 18,611, is not much greater than the NASL managed to bring in it is still an important shift in the right direction.
According to Forbes, the American business magazine, the average franchise is now worth $103 million which is an increase of more than 175% over the last five years.
And with expansion teams queuing up to join the league as well as a new TV deal on the way, there’s no reason to believe growth is going to slow down.
New York City FC announced the gameday merchandise sales on their home debut were the highest in the 20-year history of Major League Soccer.
While that may well just be ‘new club fever’ and sustaining those levels will understandably be more difficult, it again suggests that Mandaric’s views are outdated.
Perhaps the key difference as to why soccer will work in America, and Canada, this time around is the success of the men’s national teams.
The surprise success of the USA squad in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the quarter finals, sparked an interest at home that few anticipated.
The 1994 tournament, held in America, was supposed to win the hearts of a nation and despite averaging match attendances of 68,991 – still a World Cup record – the country was not ready.
More than 20 years on however, they just might be.
At the 2014 World Cup the USA took more fans than any other country. Yes they have a greater population than most, but when 196,838 seats are purchased by Americans that speaks volumes.
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The MLS was born in the wake of the ’94 tournament and those that have grown up with the sport are now in a position to take an active interest in a franchise.
So with a growing fan base and an improving domestic game, this is surely the closest the USA has ever come to falling in love with the beautiful game.
And although it now appears the 2022 Qatar World Cup will go ahead, ask yourself this: would it not have been wiser to give America another shot?
Images courtesy of HSTBOSS, Gabriel Bitar and Day Donaldson, with thanks.
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