The Outlook for Soccer in the United States
Alan Rothenberg, who helped shepherd the 1994 World Cup to record attendance, now sees a tipping point for the sport on American soil.
Major League Soccer has grown to 30 franchises, with average crowds regularly topping 20,000, a figure that rivals many baseball games and underscores the rising appetite for the game.
Across the country, matches from the English Premier League to La Liga are now shown free on network television, giving millions of viewers weekly exposure to high‑level soccer.
Even traditional football powerhouses are feeling the shift; at the University of Michigan, students who once filled the stadium for Saturday night games now gather on campus lawns to watch live soccer streams.
Legacy of the 1994 World Cup
The tournament that Rothenberg oversaw remains the best‑attended World Cup ever, and the U.S. team’s surprising run helped cement soccer’s credibility in a market long dominated by the NFL.
Four decades later, the same nation will host the 2026 edition, a milestone that Rothenberg believes will accelerate the sport’s ascent.
He envisions a 64‑team format with a single‑elimination knockout stage, a change he says could reshape global competition and further fuel domestic growth.
While ticket prices for the 2026 matches are expected to draw media scrutiny, Rothenberg predicts they will become a talking point rather than a barrier to the tournament’s broader success.