THE
BEAUTIFUL
GAME
HAS
MOMENTUM
AT
ALL
LEVELS
IN
THE
U.S.
AND
TEAM
DEALERS
CONTINUE
TO
SHOOT
AND
SCORE.
BY
MIKE
MAY
TEAM
SOCCER
KICKING
IT
IN
S
occer in America has had a number of
landmark dates that have brought it to
the point where it is now most certainly
a "major" sport in the country.
• Soccer in the U.S. was not fully recognized
until June 29, 1950, when the U.S. Men's National
Team defeated England, 1-0, in a World Cup
group match played in Brazil.
• But then soccer didn't really take root until
1968 when the North American Soccer League
(NASL) was formed, as a result of the merger
between the United Soccer Association (USA)
and the National Professional Soccer League
(NPSL).
• Next came 1994 when FIFA brought the
World Cup to the U.S.
• en soccer blossomed when Major League
Soccer was founded in 1995. e league began
play in 1996 with 10 teams and in 1998 grew
to 12 teams. It now has 29 teams.
• Now, there's the Women's Professional Soccer
League, which has 14 teams.
• Speaking of women's soccer, it certainly re-
ceived a boost when the U.S. Women's Olympic
team won the gold medal at the recently com-
pleted Summer Olympic Games in Paris. It
was the fih Olympic gold medal won by the
U.S. Women's Olympic soccer team, but the
first since 2012. (e U.S. women won the
24 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2024 teaminsightmag.com
Photo:
Pearsox
