Football Thread 21/22

[psychicscubadiver]

HomokHarcos said:

psychicscubadiver said:

In what part of the US?
I played on a youth league for a few years and my parents just had to pay for my equipment and a small fee about $50-100. We certainly weren't rich, and given the demographics of my county, I doubt most of my opponents were either. I will say that soccer was seen a child's sport where I lived; one to be dropped once you reach middle or high school.

I got that from different articles I read.

http://time.com/money/4037391/soccer-bills-college-family-budget/

http://usatodayhss.com/2017/paying-to-play-how-much-do-club-sports-cost

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jun/01/us-soccer-diversity-problem-world-football

Reading through those it looks like they are talking about club sports, the 'elite' level of youth sports. Those are really expensive and not very common. Youth leagues like what I belonged to are common and cheap with very little travel or expenses, though obviously not at the same level of play. I can't speak about it being white, because where I grew up was something like 95% white, but it was mostly rural so not just suburban kids play it. But it was almost always kids. In high school the American football and basketball teams hold the spotlight and soccer is an afterthought.

I think the biggest problem for professional soccer in the US is competition. American football, baseball, and basketball are massive here. Even smaller sports like hockey are bigger than soccer. There is a finite talent pool and so many other, more lucrative, sports are taking the prime athletes away. Just look at the women's team. They have no real competition, aside from basketball, for female athletes, and they are consistently strong at the world cup.