Soccer is called football in many
countries, is the number one sport worldwide. It is estimated
that soccer is played by more than 100,000,000 people in over
150 countries. The first rules for the game were published in
1836 by the London Football Association. Since then, the
sport has spread rapidly from Europe to almost every part of
the world. The 1996 National Soccer Participation
Survey shows that there are now some 16,785,000
children and adults playing soccer in the U.S. More than
13 million are under age of 18, indicating that the sport
is growing among the young. The survey also indicates that
among youngsters between the age of 6 and 11, soccer is
the second most popular sport, after
basketball. MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER Major League Soccer, a new
professional soccer league in the United States, had a very
successful first season in 1996. More than 3,000,000 fans
watched the 10 teams play 32 regular-season games and
playoffs. The league averaged more than 17,000 fans per
game. Washington D.C. United won the first MLS championship,
the MLS Cup, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy, 3-2, in
sudden death overtime. The MVP of this first season was
Carlos Valderrama of the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The 1997 Major
League Soccer season began on Match 22. THE WORLD CUP The biggest soccer tournament is the
World Cup. It is held every four years. Teams from more than
100 nations compete, and the top 24 teams represent their
countries in a three-week-long tournament. In 1994, the
World Cup tournament was held in the United
States for the First time. Brazil was the winner for a
record fourth time, defeating Italy in the final, 3-2, with
the game decided by penalty kicks. Here are some soccer web sites to go
to: This is a picture of a soccer
field and ball.
