Soccer in the United States

 Soccer is played in both parts of the Americas. While the South American nations like
 Brail and Argentina hail soccer as their favorite sport, the United States is yet to
 adopt soccer as a serious challenge to American football, baseball, and basketball.
 This, however, hasn't eliminated the steady growth of soccer in America.

 The North American Soccer League plays the a pivotal role in diffusing the game to the
 grassroots level in the country, especially among teenagers. For instanc,e the New
 York Cosmos, one of the top football clubs in America, hired players like Pele from Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer from Germany to introduce a cultural as well as |athletic setting for the game to grow.

 Since soccer in the US has remained mostly a recreational sport for many years, the
 professional approach to soccer was lacking until the introduction of the Major League
 Soccer (MLS) in 1996. The attendance by local soccer fans has been rising
 significantly over the past few years especially after international superstars such as
 David Beckham and Juan Pablo Angel have signed to play for American soccer clubs.
 Television broadcasting of soccer in the US, which wasn't popular due to the lack of
 ability to show commercials during the matches, has also increased notably as new
 advertising technologies are being introduced.

 It's been debated that the Oneida Football Club of Boston was the very first soccer
 club outside the United Kingdom to play the game. It is believed that the club
 promoted soccer in the US as it was founded before the English Football Association
 (FA) decided on the rules of soccer. The definitive historic account says that the first
 game was played between Rutgers University and Princeton University in 1869.

 Modern American soccer clearly took off after the country hosted the 2004 World Cup
 in 1994. The US national team qualified for the World Cup games ever since and fared 
 well considering its inexperience relative to its rivals.