A World Cup in the United States
Written by: Theo Johnson
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, both in terms of fans and revenue. In fact, it is the most popular sport in 226 out of 261 countries. The biggest soccer event, the World Cup, is 10 times more popular than the Olympics. (Bleacher Report) However, soccer has failed to make the impact it has worldwide in the United States where it ranks as only the 7th most popular sport. (TheRichest). While soccer’s popularity has been growing slowly since the 1994 World Cup that was hosted in the States, America is by far the largest potential market in the soccer industry. The United States would be a perfect fit for a World Cup.
The 1994 World Cup had a major effect on America, both in soccer’s popularity and from an economic standpoint. The World Cup was hosted in 9 different across the US. The average economic profit for each of these cities was 623 million dollars (Nodell). The United States was able to produce the largest economic profit from a World Cup because, unlike most other hosts, new stadiums were not needed and games were played in existing football stadiums. This allowed for the United States to host the World Cup with fewer fixed costs. The month-long event brought millions in profit to several different industries such as hotels, restaurants, and soccer itself. Since the United States is the most populous country the tournament has ever been held in, it produced record crowds, bring in more profit to FIFA. (InfoPlease) Since the United States creates the most profit for more FIFA and itself, it should be a frontrunner in hosting another World Cup.
The 2022 World Cup may soon be looking for a host as the current host, Qatar, is under fire for colluding FIFA to allow it to host. In that case, in makes sense for the States to host in terms of both the short and long run. In the short run, the low fixed costs will allow the event to bring in more profit for FIFA and the country. The World Cup would surely increase the soccer fan base in the United States. This increase in market size would increase the demand for all things soccer related such as getting soccer games on TV or soccer jerseys. The increase in demand would increase the price and therefore the producer surplus in the long run for FIFA as they have control over all international soccer.
The reason for Brazil’s failure in hosting the 2014 World Cup was larger in part to the costs of stadiums. In the US, that wouldn’t be a problem.
If a World Cup were to be hosted by the United States, it would benefit the country, FIFA, and soccer as a sport. Therefore, I believe that if the 2022 World Cup were to need a new host, America would be a perfect fit.
Works Cited
"Economics of the FIFA World Cup." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
"FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil Costs." Statista. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Joe Kidwell , Contributor Nov 14, 2008. "226 Countries Can't Be Wrong." Bleacher Report. N.p., 28 Nov. 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
"Most Populous Countries." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
"1994 FIFA World Cup." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
"Ranking The Most Popular Sports in America." TheRichest. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
I liked the facts you had with the source in the text. I also found it interesting how it is the 7th most popular sport in the U.S. However I do not think having a world cup will create soccer fans with technology people are aware of the world cup and still have not become better fans. It will bring in a lot of money to the country though.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick, with the major impact that social media and information has had on society, I don't think that hosting a major competitive event is going to have a major influence on the tastes of the local people. We saw the same thing during the Olympics where Americans got hyped up for the events but no major changes in tastes have occurred since then. Along with this, Americans like to be patriotic, and have preferences, so this would influence the price of the event and the profit it makes would skyrocket for the short-term, even if it had no long-term impact.
ReplyDeleteI would have to disagree with you on your statement that a World Cup doesn't affect the taste of the local. It is been proven that the popularity of soccer has increased (and stayed above its former popularity) among the host nation of each World Cup. The 1994 World Cup was especially impactful on the US population. It caused an 27.6% increase on the number of soccer fans and led to the creation of the MLS (US soccer league). If we were to host another World Cup, the percent may not be as large but the amount of fans will definitely increase.
DeleteSource: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/sports/soccer/24soccer.html
DeleteI disagree with the others in that I think if the World Cup were to come to the U.S. again, interest in the sport would increase. It is true the social media has increased our exposure to the World Cup and soccer in general but attending a sports event is extremely different from watching it on television. Surely people who have little interest in soccer normally will attend the world cup if it were nearby, and they might have a newfound love for the sport based on this experience. All of this is without mentioning the economic growth due to increased construction spending, food consumption, and hotel room use.
ReplyDeleteIf the World Cup was hosted in the United States it would create more fan interest. The ability to go and watch a live soccer game played by players around the world in nearby city is something people in America would like. On the economic side of things obviously this is going to create huge amount of revenue for cities that host World Cup games. People would travel from around the world to come and spend money in our hotels restaurants and for tickets. Hosting the World Cup would be something I would like to see and the economic benefit is something everyone wants to see.
ReplyDeleteHosting the World Cup could have multiple potential benefits and little to no potential cons. The World Cup games would bring a lot of revenue to cities that hosted them. The surrounding businesses would benefit greatly and the city would be able to make money of the game too. Many people would travel here which would bring money to airlines, hotels, local restaurants, etc.. Since the US already has many football stadiums, we again wouldn't have to build any more. Which would save us money. The potential economic benefits to hosting the World Cup outweighs any con. I think it would be a great idea to host it.
ReplyDeleteI would also have to disagree with the other comments stated above, and it's because many people do not have thousands of dollars sitting around to go to South America to watch the world cup. Therefore by having it here in America it will give many more Americans to watch the game from the stadium rather than from their couch. Due to social media, it increases the revenue of the world cup, and the popularity of the sport. Without it we wouldn't know when what teams plays who and when. So just by having the information go out on social media, it already increases the publicity of World Cup games. By getting more fans to attend games, it will also increase the World Cup's revenue for team spirit wear. Therefore with having the United States hosting the world cup it benefit the overall economic growth of the United States.
ReplyDeleteI think hosting the World Cup in North America would be very beneficial to soccer and also to the economy. Such local exposure to one of the world's greatest sporting events there is, will get a lot of new fans to watch and maybe attend the games. The economy will see major profits from all the sales and these profits won't drop very much because new fans will be created and they will pour more of their money into attending games.
ReplyDeleteHosting the world cup would do more have long term economic profit than the sort term. After hosting one of the greatest competitions in the world more interest would start to revolve around soccer. With the high level of soccer being played and watched by millions, we would see more participation in soccer across the nation. Soccer will become more competitive as athletes grow causing the quality of the MLS(Major League Soccer) to rise and with this, the fan base. So no only will United States realize a economic profit following the World Cup but also seen an increase in revenue from MLS in the long term.
ReplyDeleteHosting a World Cup in the United States would bring a great deal of awareness to the sport of soccer, and also the US. Americans would be able to see world-known soccer players that they couldn't see anywhere else unless they travel outside of the country. The cities that the games are played in would generate a lot of revenue, as well as awareness. Overall, holding a World Cup in the United States would be beneficial.
ReplyDeleteI think having the World Cup in the United States would be a great benefit to the country economically and socially, but it is not the most popular sport here, so people might not be as interested to attend the games. It is, though, very popular in other countries, as the post mentions, so it would bring many people from around the world to the United States and help our economy greatly. But if soccer is more popular in other countries, wouldn’t it make sense to have the World Cup in a country or area where there are more people interested? Personally, I would love to have a World Cup in the United States, but maybe having it in a more soccer-popular place would be more advantageous for FIFA.
ReplyDeleteA World Cup in the US would most certainly bring a ton of revenue and fans to the country, however I don't necessarily think it would increase fan awareness and make people in the US enjoy soccer more in the future. The economy would definitely spike during the time of the tournament, but Americans will still appreciate other sports like football and basketball more.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, hosting a World Cup in the US would greatly increase soccer’s popularity in the country. Right now, football (American variant) is declining in popularity because of safety issues, especially with concussions. Hosting a World Cup could sway millennials to become soccer fans if they are turning away from football. This would cause an increase in the number of players in the country, but also the popularity of the domestic league, the MLS. The other benefit of hosting a World Cup is that if soccer is popular, more people will be following women’s soccer in the US, which is really struggling right now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that the popularity of the MLS would increase greatly in the long run. A World Cup would lead to an increase in popularity for the sport which would cause more kids to want to play soccer. The increase in athletes means there will be an increase in high-quality athletes that would boost the playing level of the MLS. This would make the league not only more popular in the United States but also abroad. Specifically in Europe, the general consensus is that the MLS is competitive enough to care about but that could change as a result of a World Cup here.
DeleteAlong with everyone else, I agree that a world cup in the United States would obviously be a good thing. This is why so many countries are eager to host. However, because of the large amount of infrastructure and stadiums we already have here, hosting would cost less to us as an investment, so we would benefit more than most countries. Also bringing the world cup to the US would bring some degree of extra interest in soccer, so the MLS would probably benefit economically.
ReplyDeleteI am all for a World Cup in the United States. Not only is it great for the economy, but it is great for general soccer fans like myself as well. Great vocab throughout your piece, I like all of the economics terms. I think as a whole, the news of a World Cup coming to the United States would bring great excitement to our wonderful country, and the anticipation would undoubtedly build up, but I fear that after the World Cup, our country will just disintegrate back to not watching soccer, not even caring about soccer, at the conclusion of the World Cup. That would be a sad thing to see. However, I am all for a World Cup in the U S of A baby.
ReplyDeleteHaving another World Cup in the United States would great for the United States. The economy would not only improve because of the buzz the sport would get in the United States, but also the economy would improve due to the amount of tourism coming in from other countries to watch the World Cup. Overall having the World Cup here in the United States would be amazing for a fan like me, as well as the economy as a whole.
ReplyDelete