Team Insight

Dealers hope their World Cup's runneth over as soccer returns to the pitch and participation numbers rise. By Judy Leand TEAM: SOCCER S occer has long been touted as America's sport of the future and has been one of the fastest-growing team sports in the country for a generation now. As the nation's demographics continue to evolve, the data is finally catching up to those claims. ere is little doubt that soccer is quickly becoming a "first choice" sport for young athletes. Moreover, a soaring fan base fueled by a plethora of soccer available on TV and streaming services — ranging from domestic men's and women's pro leagues to college soccer, to just about every league from anywhere on the planet – plus a renewed desire to participate in the game, is helping to drive the sport's success. One interesting stat tells it all: In 2021, there were only six days in which a soccer game was not broadcast on U.S. television — leaving fans to choose from among 4600 individual matches that year, ac- cording to a recent report commissioned and released by Telemundo Desportes. More than half of those matches were broadcast in Spanish, showcasing the sport's popularity among the Hispanic demographic — the fastest-growing population in the U.S. from 2010-2020. All of this, combined with the waning of the pandemic and the end of the accompanying closures and mandates, along with the resumption of full game schedules for youth and adult teams and leagues, is good news for soccer specialty stores and team dealers. And the impact of the World Cup in Qatar can certainly only help. Participation Helps Dealers Score Both outdoor and indoor soccer participation remains steady across the U.S. Total participation in outdoor soccer hit just over 12.5 million in 2021, up 0.9 percent from 2020 and a jump of 5.4 percent from 2019-2021, according to the SFIA Soccer (Outdoor) Single Sport Report 2022. SFIA also reports that indoor soccer logged 5.4 million participants in 2021, remaining flat from the prior year, which in this post-pan- demic environment is actually a solid performance. From 2019-2021, participation crept up 1.4 percent. In conjunction with these national trends, many soccer specialists and team dealers are witnessing burgeoning participation in their communities. "Participation is booming in youth, recreational and travel soccer," reports Mike Walter, GM of Mt. Pleasant, SC-based Lloyd's Soccer, which also operates locations in Greenville, SC, and Atlanta, GA. "ere are five to six clubs in the area and all have more players than they did last year. We've had about 25 percent more uniform orders for youth soccer in 2022 than in 2021." He attributes some of the growth to the fact that there has been ongoing migration to the South from other parts of the country due 21 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2022 teaminsightmag.com KICK START

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