Portal:Soccer in the United States
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 Soccer in the United States has long been popular amongst all ages and it is the most popular recreational sport for both boys and girls, and according to History of Soccer: The Beautiful Game, has been so for about 25 years. This late 20th century boom is attributed for the most part to the existence of the North American Soccer League from 1967 to 1984, and the New York Cosmos, its marquee team which included among its players stellar names like Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer. Professional soccer has expanded since the mid-1990s, especially since the 1994 FIFA World Cup which was hosted in the United States for the first time. Both the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cups were also held in the USA, and the United States women's national team is one of the best in the world. Their home crowd of over 90,000 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California for the 1999 World Cup Final remains the largest crowd in the world ever to witness any women's sporting event. More and more Americans, having played the game in their youth are now avid spectators. Most cities with Major League Soccer teams have large fan bases. In addition, as Latin American immigration is increasing overall in the entire nation, so is the popularity of soccer. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.  The league's 15th team; Sounders FC began play in the 2009 season. During that season every home game was sold out, a new MLS record for average match attendance was set, and they sold the most season tickets in the league. The team finished the 2009 season with a winning record and qualified for the MLS playoffs, where they were eliminated in the conference semi-finals. Sounders FC is the second expansion team in MLS history to win the U.S. Open Cup tournament in their first season and they also compete with rival clubs for both the Heritage Cup and the Cascadia Cup. Along with several organized groups; a 53-member marching band called the Sound Wave supports the team at each home game. Fans also selected the Sounders name for the club through an online poll in 2008, making the Seattle Sounders FC the third Seattle soccer team to share the moniker. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Supporters of the Poland and United States national soccer teams meet before a game. America played their first ever international game in 1885 and have appeared in eight World Cup final tournaments. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Mia Hamm (born March 17, 1972 in Selma, Alabama) is a former American soccer player. Playing for many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team, she scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female, in the history of the sport (158).Hamm eventually became one of the most famous women athletes in the world, an iconic symbol of women's sports, and an inspiration and role model to a generation of sports-minded girls. She was named the women's FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002), and is listed as one of FIFA's 125 best living players (as chosen by Pelé). She retired from the sport in 2004, when she played her last game in the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour to commemorate the US's Women's National team's victory in the 2004 Olympics. In 2007, her first year of eligibility, she was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame by having 137 votes of the 141 ballots cast. Hamm was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on March 11, 2008 and Women's Professional Soccer features Hamm's silhouette in its logo. She is the author of Go For the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life (Harper Collins, 1999). She appeared in the HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team.  Brief in-the-news coverage of Soccer in the United States is also available at Sports current events.
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