Assisigment #6

Soccer: Why is it so popular around the World?

This is a question that has baffled me for all of my life. Why is soccer the most popular sport in the world? All of my life American football has been the craze, here in American, but only "Football" (soccer) tops the list in most of the world. I researched alot of information about soccer, and have learned a great deal. Well, most have heard of the most widely viewed event called the "FIFA World Cup". According to FIFA.com it is estimated that, the average in-home global audience for each match was 188.4 million, up six percent on 2006, while the highest average audience measured was for the final at 530.9 million, up five percent on 2006". Why so much hype every four years in which soccer teams from all over the world compete for the right hold the " World Cup" in their hands? Well, soccer is very old sport. The first indications of an early formal form of football dates back 3,000 years to ancient China. Author Cliff Potter in July 10, 2010 in the article "The Real Truth: World Cup: Why soccer is so popular around the World" says, "So, the game is older than most other sports. It began in a country known for its export of culture and systems, and for its ownership of much of the world in the 1800s. And it was a sport that was easily exportable". The game still has rich history behind it, and still easily explorable all around the world, even though essences of the game has changed. Today its all about the dollar!

Okay, we know that soccer is one the oldest sports in the world and it is easily exportable, but why has it grown to the level of popularly, that in 2010 nearly half of the world viewed the FIFA World Cup, and shown in every single country and territory on Earth! There has to be something more to this! The same author spoken of earlier (Cliff Potter), gives a few reasons why this is so. First reason he argues is, that there are few money issues within this sport. He says, “Unlike even baseball, where there are few money barriers, a single ball is all that is relevant”. There are few money concerns in soccer, which is a plus. Second, “advertising and financing are very big in most countries in the world”. These countries are reaping huge benefits, so I have a feeling everyone’s happy! Also, soccer has a huge pool of talent all around the world, making it more appealing. So, there are many reasons why this sport is so big, too bad that will never happen in America.