With Copa America around the corner, the time has come for U.S. soccer

Los Angeles, USA | For the first time, the United States will be the capital of soccer for the next few years America’s CupIt was the starting point for the North American giant to make a huge commitment to a sport it had historically turned its back on.

Americas Continental Championships, oldest football teamIt kicks off a series of major tournaments hosted by the United States that will continue with the first expanded Club World Cup in 2025 and culminate with the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted with Mexico and Canada.

The United States, also the host of the 2028 Los Angeles OlympicsAs the league and women’s football have been ranked among the world’s top for many years, the Chinese men’s football team faces a decisive period to consolidate its men’s football strategy.

The opening cycle of the America’s Cup (June 20-July 14) had an unexpected prologue, with Lionel Messi landing at Inter Miami a year ago.

The arrival of the player considered the best of all time put MLS on the global soccer map and sparked interest in the game in the world’s largest sports market, but no other international star has yet traversed the same path.

this Major League Soccer Continuing to grow while striving to remove the label of a retired league. “Messi fever” brought as many as 72,000 spectators to the stadium and helped the tournament break the attendance record set last season.

– The most coveted market –

Abroad, the United States is a priority market for the world’s biggest teams looking to capitalize on a soccer boom driven by immigration and demographic change.

Teams, especially from Latin America, fill dozens of friendly matches every year, while organizations such as the current world champions Argentina’s Football Association have opened offices in “Messiland” in Miami.

The world’s biggest clubs have also reserved significant space for their fans in the United States during preseason, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​who will play their third tournament in August. “Summer Classic” continuously.

The next step in this strategy could be the launch of a national league, much as American sports like the NBA or NFL have done abroad.

this FIFA Leaders such as Spanish league president Javier Tebas have been asking for the project for years, and he has tried several times to organize official games in Miami.

When FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited New York two years ago, he boldly predicted: “By 2026, football will be the number one sport in this country.”

The challenges of achieving this goal are enormous. Soccer still faces great difficulty in being covered by the country’s sports media, with powerful American football, basketball, baseball and even ice hockey leagues standing in its way.

However, with the exception of Major League Baseball, all of those games will be suspended when the Copa America ball rolls through 14 stadiums in the United States.

More than 1 million tickets have been sold for the event, which is only the second time the country has hosted it after the 2016 Centenario, and the football world does not want to miss its big moment.