{"id":2754,"date":"2021-01-09T14:33:14","date_gmt":"2021-01-09T19:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vpms1.humber.smartmanagedservers.com\/scribemag\/?p=2754"},"modified":"2022-04-21T13:54:57","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T17:54:57","slug":"kicking-out-the-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/sports\/kicking-out-the-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Kicking Out The Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Photo by Emilio Garcia<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By Manan Nijhawan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2026, Canada will be hosting the FIFA World Cup for the first time. The tournament, held with the United States and Mexico, will be expanded from 32 teams, to 48.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the entire world. The official broadcasting coverage data showed over 3.5 billion people tuned in to watch the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted in Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Major League Soccer has 30 teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rise of soccer in North America has been exceptional Major League Soccer (MLS) has seen a 27 per cent rise in interest since 2012, according to Nielsen Sports. TV viewership is also up 13 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToronto FC winning the MLS championship showed Canadians what the sport is about and gave them hope,\u201d said FC player Damian Charles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another reason for rising interest in the sport among Canadians is the number of Canadian players being scouted by European clubs. \u201cMy friend, Lucas Diaz is now a full-time player in Europe and has a contract,\u201d said Damian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alphonso Davies is one of the biggest names in the football world right now. The 20-year-old, who plays for Bayern Munich and has just won the Champions League, started his soccer journey with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He also plays for Canada at the international level. He won the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award and was nominated for the best young player of the year title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen Alphonso was signed by Bayern, no one thought he would be vital for their Champions League win. But his game against Chelsea did not just introduce him to the world, but also showed European clubs the talent that can be found in North America,\u201d said Bayern Munich fan Tarush Gupta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Ralph (Ravi) Kayden<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Canadian Jordyn Huitema plays for Paris Saint Germain\u2019s women\u2019s team (PSG). She was born in Chilliwack, B.C., and like Davies, started her journey with the Vancouver Whitecaps before joining PSG. Huitema has been compared to Christine Sinclair, perhaps one of the best Canadian soccer players, because of their similar playing styles and positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot just Davies, but players like Pulisic and Sergio Dest, who are Americans, are playing in the most competitive leagues among players like Lionel Messi. All of these [things] factor into people following the sport more,\u201d said Damian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europeans clubs are investing in the North American game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clubs like FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich have corporate offices in New York, while La Liga and Bundesliga have an on-ground presence by being involved in games and hosting soccer camps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the coaching system over here in Canada is really good. I think that\u2019s how Alfonso Davies was able to make his way to Munich. Obviously, he\u2019s talented but he got guidance as well. Him having that type of guidance is what ultimately led him to Bayern,\u201d said Damian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next steps for North American soccer would be success at the international level and the opportunity for new and current players to play more games in the future. The 2026 World Cup will not only be a tournament that will help the sport to thrive, but also will give a chance to younger players to show their skills in the years leading to the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a great opportunity for the U.S. and the Canadian teams to showcase their young talents in front of European teams and make them think [about] where they\u2019ve been all this time and how fast they can get them to Europe,\u201d said Damian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAthletes are going to think, ‘If I can make it to the semi-professional level and the Canadian Premier League, then I can make it to the European level too,’\u201d he said. \u201cNorth America is a really multi-cultural continent with a lot of Portuguese, Indian, Caribbean and Muslim people and all of them will be able to watch their teams play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe league\u2019s growth can also be seen by the fact that up until a couple of years ago the MLS was a league where players would come before retiring but now it\u2019s also become a league for European clubs to scout young players,\u201d said Tarush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los Angeles FC managing owner Larry Berg predicts the MLS will surpass baseball and hockey to become the third most popular sport after American football and basketball in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With interest from European clubs, the changing demographics and the 2026 World Cup on its way, there is no doubt that North American soccer is on the uprise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer is on the rise as a favourite sport in North America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",1920,1122,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash-170x120.jpg",170,120,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash-300x175.jpg",300,175,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash-768x449.jpg",696,407,true],"large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash-1024x598.jpg",696,406,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash-1536x898.jpg",1536,898,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",1920,1122,false],"td_150x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",150,88,false],"td_218x150":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",218,127,false],"td_300x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",300,175,false],"td_324x400":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",324,189,false],"td_485x360":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",485,283,false],"td_696x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",696,407,false],"td_1068x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",1068,624,false],"td_1920x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/emilio-garcia-AWdCgDDedH0-unsplash.jpg",1920,1122,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Scribe Staff","author_link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/author\/scribemag\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Soccer is on the rise as a favourite sport in North America.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2754"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3170,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2754\/revisions\/3170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}