How the Premier League (finally) made it to the United States
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- For decades, people have been trying and failing to get soccer (football) to catch on in America--but in 2012, NBC finally broke through when it bought the rights to broadcast the Premier League in the US.
This is the story of how someone finally figured out how to make soccer work in the States.
PATREON:
Video courtesy of:
Premier League
NBC Sports
Liverpool FC
Manchester City FC
ESPN
U.S. Soccer
Fox Sports
UEFA
SportsPro
It's the only sport I watch live. I never have to watch an ad.
As a fellow spurs fan, I am sorry.
TOTTENHAM GETS BATTERED, EVERYWHERE THEY GO
TOTTENHAM GETS BATTERED, EVERYWHERE THEY GO
EVERYWHERE THEY GO
@WingWingHerro did alright last night tho
@@funkiepro5122big dom 🔥🔥🔥
@@funkiepro5122 Who the hell watched the carabao cup?
Yea it’s a roller coaster fr
Great video buddy. I grew up in Pakistan in the 90s, and became an Aston Villa fan just based on random highlights on TV (Pre-youtube days of course). From my immigration in 1999 til 2014, I didn't really care for soccer because it wasn't as easily accessible as American sports quite frankly. The fact that NBC not only brought EPL rights, but smartly decided to give me the option to watch any game I wanted, really re-ignited my love for Villa. After a decade of pain and torture, Villa is flying high again and I can boast about being a true fan before they became this new shiny thing. 😀
UTV
I feel like I just watched a documentary about my EPL fandom. I had never truly considered how revolutionary that NBC deal was. Nailed it, Will 👏
Two major developments: High levels of migration from Africa, Asia, and especially Latin America. People from these countries love football, and are encouraging their friends to get in on it. 2) Globalization of media. UA-cam feeds for Americans, for example, are more diverse than ever. They are increasingly exposed to content abroad, much of which is related to football.
I think the fifa games helped also
Apple pie is an English export to the USA, just like soccer, as well as the American national anthem.
I’d always been interested in soccer but there were no youth leagues in my area growing up and I’d catch matches here and there and my kids played but when NBC got Premier League rights I got very excited. I was looking for a team to support and loved the history of Liverpool FC. The 2013-14 season was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. From Suarez and Sturridge to the Gerrard slip and the collapse at Selhurst I was hooked and have been since.
I was born and live in Liverpool, I'm a blue me self will be there at the derby in 9 days
Like most Americans, I usually only watched every 4 years. I live & work late nights in Las Vegas. Sometime in the Fall of 2012 after work, I'm at a bar around 6am and I see a soccer game and ask the bartender if it's live. He said it was. It was Liverpool vs ? .
Anyway, I started watching on weekends...any game that was on. I liked it because of the fan passion...no commercials...and I knew it would be over in 2 hours Very unlike our baseball and college football games that could last 4 hours.
Fast forward a year + and I'm enjoying a Liverpool game v Chelsea. I knew Liverpool were a power club that hadn't won in years. So I was rooting for them and their fans to end their drought similar to City a few years earlier. Then, as I'm watching, Gerrard slipped and Demba Ba breaks their hearts.
Pretty much from that moment I chose Liverpool as my club...and it's been a fantastic ride ever since
In the long term ,if football is to grow in the US , you have got to get kids loving the game ..
Many kids in Britain kick a ball around in their back yards almost as soon as they can walk.
As they get older , they will get together with their friends to play in the street, or local parks , using jumpers as goal posts .
They try to emulate their heroes that they see on TV , or at a live match .
As young adults they may play for a pub team , and even small villages have teams .
There are many thousands of amateur leagues in Britain.
A few players are scouted by pro clubs , and join their academies .
Without the grass roots , football clubs could not survive .
I've heard in America they have a controversial 'pay to play' system, where if you want your kid to play in a team, you have to pay hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars a year for the privilege.
That's the most backwards thing I've ever heard! I played in my school team (for free). I also played for a local boys team, and a local mens team. The only thing I ever had to pay was a couple of quid a week, and that was mostly just chipping in to pay for the kits to be washed!
@BadgerOff32 That wouldn't surprise me .
If someone isn't making a big profit , then nothing gets done in the US.
I remember when premier league would occasionally be on ESPN in the early 2010s late 2000s
As an Englishman who is forced to watch dodgy illegal streams to watch my team on a Saturday (because we still have an archaic 'blackout' rule on a Saturday over here), I often end up watching NBC's coverage, and I've gotta admit, it is very good.
The way they do it is kinda cool. Rebecca Lowe and the two Robbies are good, they have English commentators with recognizable voices (some of whom have been pushed out of a job in England to make way for the forceful insertion of female commentators), and they get the fans involved by hosting the show in fan parks. The idea of getting up on a Saturday morning to watch football with your morning coffee is a a good one.
I actually watch quite a lot of the USL Championship and League 1 (the American 2nd and 3rd tier), mostly for the same reasons you've outlined in this video. Firstly, it's easily accessible over here (all the games are streamed live, for free, on UA-cam), and in England, it's on at a time when no other football is on (late at night - 10pm onwards), and it's actually a pretty decent standard of football!
It seems more 'authentic' than the MLS too. They are more like community teams, with smaller, hardcore fanbases. I'm into it! That's something I can respect and get behind (I'm personally partial to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. I love their stadium lol)
But here's the thing, if football is really going to take off properly in America, you guys NEED to implement promotion and relegation into your own league system! I know the MLS teams are vehemently against it because of the potential loss of revenue, but the sport NEEDS it! It thrives on it! It's a huge part of what makes football so compelling!
The idea that a team like Richmond Kickers or Charlotte Independence could rise up from USL League 1 (3rd Division) into the MLS is the sort of aspirational story that Americans love! Likewise, relegation from the MLS would be pure drama, as it is in every other league around the world! It keeps teams on their toes. If you know you'll get kicked out of the league if you suck, it gives you a HUGE incentive to......not suck!
Teams currently get rewarded with the best draft picks for finishing bottom of the league. They are literally REWARDED FOR FINISHING BOTTOM! Now that could still be a thing if you finish last......but you'd also have to face the ignominy of going down too. So yeah, you're getting the best young talent, but you'd still have to earn your place back in the top flight.
However, even the USL doesn't have promotion and relegation between their leagues, although they do at least WANT to implement it, and did vote to consider it as recently as 2023, they just can't figure out the best way to implement it yet, so it didn't pass.
Just to illustrate how big the Premier League is starting to show- the Official Liverpool Supporters Club-Orange County (California) will literally have up to 30 people at the bar (that we meet up at for every match) at 4:30 AM for 12:30 PM kickoffs and over 200 people for Champions League Finals (max occupancy is 180 but we snuck people in when our other friends didn't line up early enough)
That's fantastic! I was in California for the first time last summer and I could not believe just how good the climate and geography actually is. I may get to watch 12:30 games at 12:30, but when I look out the window, it's cold, grey and raining 😢
As a 50 year LFC supporter (used to sneak to Anfield from school on home matches when a kid) I do find it intriguing that a sudden growth of the beautiful game is happening in the US. Because I couldn't imagine going crazy over a gridiron or baseball team to that point if shown on UK, EU telly. I believe the ZERO threat of relegation, or hope of promotion, is what renders the different US sporting leagues boring and valueless.
@@NotYourKindOfPeople-z6m Thing is, I've gone to watch games at the bars/pubs since 2018 (I've been a fan since 2012). It turns out there have been Americans following European Football for decades. But I feel it's NBC's investment for the exclusive full broadcasting rights in the U.S is where the EPL really got their hooks in us. This is why ESPN all of sudden decided to lock in broadcasting rights for the Bundesliga and both of England's Domestic Cup games.
@@mattbennett9467 Australia to has a large Liverpool fanbase. When Liverpool is playing a match in England 12.30pm kickoff. Its summer in Australia and 1.30am in Melbourne and Sydney I am sure the late night are kept open a little longer while the match finnishes on the big screen and they all head home in the middle of summer at 4am after watching the match with about 100 other guys at a bar in central melbourne somewhere.
@@rohanmarkjay Love it!
I have been a hardcore PL fan since 2017 and love how long the season is and waking up first thing on an SAT/SUN. I watch AC Milan and Celtic, but sadly, I don't watch MLS at all.
I think your video is pretty much spot on for me. I knew about the Premier League because my brother-in-law is from Cardiff Wales and Cardiff City made it to the Premier League in 2013. It was great they were on TV but man they were overmatched. Anyway....I found I really liked turning on the TV early to watch a match and still do to this day. But the one thing you didn't touch on is the running time and therefore no commercial breaks. As I have gotten older, I find broadcasts of American sports to be extremely annoying due to the constant commercial breaks. I would argue that some sports are becoming unwatchable because the games have no flow to them due to all the stoppages. I find myself watching less and less. So, when I can watch a minimum 45 minutes of continuous action....sign me up!!
I'm from the UK and when I moved to the US for 3 years in 1997, it was virtually impossible to watch the Premier League. Or any football. I actually took a vacation back home during France '98 World Cup as it was the only way I could watch it without committing to an expensive satellite TV package. When I returned to the US in the 2010s I was able to watch almost every game and there was even a local supporters club for my team. Times have changed.
You make some really good points that’d I’d never considered. The Breaking Bad analogy really put it into perspective.
Great video mate 👏
I remember being a kid in the 90's and soccer was such a niche interest. Amazing what it has become.
I can see the growing US interest just from the number of Americans joining Crystal Palace fan pages. They are very welcome.
Even in the UK getting people to watch West Brom vs Hull is difficult
the Jake Livermore derby (no one calls it that)
ironically your not the first person I’ve heard say that. Btw I say that about West Brom vs Hull as a Brit who is a massive Man United fan and has season tickets at Old Trafford but lives in London and would watch West Brom vs Hull
I have a friend here from the UK and he told me something similar.
Tbf watching football legally is unaffordable in the UK
@@studentofthegame , you forgot to mention the sad time when a team gets relegated ( but do get a " parachute " payment for three years to compensate for the less money ) BUT absolutely the greatest feeling when a team gets promoted from the championship League into the premiership League ( lots of the championship supporters will also follow premiership teams as a second team ) .
From the UK great video just came on from autoplay
I also think with the premier league is the easiest for an American audience to understand, it’s notoriously the quickest paced league in the world as well as the fact we speak the same language so the context of teams and clubs history is a lot easier to understand.
La liga was arguably the best league in the world at the time with Messi vs Ronaldo the talent within the top teams in the league, Spain dominating in international football as well as in the European competitions. It probably wouldn’t have been as popular as what the premier league was.
Great thing about Premier League is its fast, crowds are passionate about their team. action packed, its like basketball end to end stuff and most importantly you don't need a big attention span. Perfect for Americans.
The Premier League is also the most competitive of the Big 5 European Leagues. Any club, from Manchester City to Leicester City, has a palpable chance of winning the whole thing, which is a natural component of American sports.
Meanwhile, for the past 10 years or so, Bayern Munich has dominated the Bundesliga. Nobody, not even Dortmund, could even come close to breaking their streak. Unless the fans are pretty much family to you, why bother following any other club in the Bundesliga?
Oh shit. The USA are interested.
All l would add is NBC had the nous to realise the Prem is just great product. Not just what happens on the pitch but the whole culture.
There was a reason for no English club being in a champions league final from 1985-1999 and that was because English clubs were banned from European club competitions from 85-90.
Manchester United were the first team let back in, in the now defunct cup winners cup in 90-91 season (they won it)
But the 5 year ban put English clubs behind in investment and competition.
Once the Premier League began in 92 and gained traction the English clubs got back on track
UEFA was the reason and still is the reason EPL clubs are held back
UEFA loves La Liga clubs as do their referees
Europe hates the brits. Always have always will.
Hysel? hooliganism?
The Italian fans were as bad that night , I watched it live.
UEFA used a dilapidated stadium and didn’t organise any aspect
I found an amazing Liverpool bar in Houston
Bro WHERE?!?!
Oh my God this video is so sweet!
Greetings from Mars.
It's going to be a long road before the average American can watch a 45 min half with no breaks.
Solid analysis. Incidentally much of it could be said about the public interest in the women's game, (in Europe). Until recently, you could not watch all the games in the big leagues on tv. And if something isn't broadcast, of course there are no viewers. Once it was widely accepted that a public interest existed, after the 2022 Euros, full coverage began and the rest is history.
Welcome to Wrexham really gave football in the US that critical push.
Now days most games will probably be on Peacock for EPL , and Most if not all of La Liga and Bundesliga on ESPN streaming instead of TV
To have the entire MLS in the hands of a couple of dozen billionaires owners who only have their own team's interests at heart doesn't help. No promotion or relegation to make the sport truly nationwide, no grassroots opportunities for talented youngsters who don't already live near a MLS franchise unless you've got rich parents. It denies the US the chance to evolve and make the best use of the athletes of the future.
MLS is just stubborn, stupidly stubborn. How can Apple truly promote the league when Apple have never been truly involve in sport broadcast? Take away Messi from the league, and watch subscriptions dry out. They just went for the money without thinking strategically.
lol beckham coming to usa was what made nbc purchase epl in the first place.
Isn't that another conversation. Nothing really to do with football or showing EPL matches in America.
Why don't you do a video about it and we can discuss it there?
They should give the USA Women's league the same coverage and deal as the Premier League, that would be totally awesome!
Theres always a hunger for new sports.
NBC is onto a winner with this.
I grew up in the UK and we had highlights of the Italian league, Seria A. It got me hooked on something i never knew about. A totally new style. It was great.
I understand the idea of putting your country first and cheering for it, but sometimes it's exciting to cheer for talented foreigners rather than homegrown if they'd make the game better.
The fact that they arent instantly the best team in the world,winning everything, is also what puts them off. As a sunderland fan of many years, your loyalty is based on the journey. The few highs and many lows...thats where the emotional involvement comes from. You build vendettas with other teams and enjoy the revenge for big defeats etc
Don’t you think Welcome to Wrexham gave it the final push over then line?
great vid mate! The fact you're wearing a spurs jersey aswell sealed the deal for me. you got a new sub for sure!
2:30 Bro genuinely left Pelé and Henry out of team wtf 💀
As for post 2010 ESPN and FoX had shared the EPL also had UCL and MLS games, but NBC took over in 2013 and ever since, NBC pretty much over spend just for EPL only.. i still beleive they havent profited yet
Been watching the PL since in the 90s. In the States.
epl fandom started when beckham came to usa (mls)
beckham made soccer viable to tv producers who before thought soccer on tv was useless.
its called the beckham efffect.
ironically the british media criticize beckham coming to america yet because of him america has become the 2nd biggest market for the epl.
Wow, very impressive, football the beautiful game.
I guess America realises how limited it's sports are. Like who really plays basketball, football*, baseball etc outside of the US? Everyone plays the real football, and that's where the real competition is. Same with F1 vs Nascar.
I think millions of people outside of the US play basketball and baseball.
@@GuitarReader Nothing on the scale of football. They may play at school or whatever. But football is insanely popular in comparison. I live in the UK, I know no one who plays basketball.
@@fastair8546 Okay. I hope I answered your question.
@ It was a rhetorical question, because barely anyone does.
@@fastair8546 Genuine questions only please. Thanks!
It definitely makes the World Cup extremely more exciting when you know a few players already.
Steven Gerrard never won the league and was not 'still around' when Liverpool finally triumphed. Unfortunately for Gerrard, *his chance just slipped away...*
If I remember correctly literally. As he fell over and gave a goal away 😂. Everton played Man City the next day and the Gladys Street wasn’t letting him forget it, you could have heard them at Anfield.
@@davidwright7193Yep, Slippy G gave it to Demba Ba
The reason they have shut soccer out til now is the lack of opportunity for ad breaks. Imagine a sport where you have to sit still for 45 mins without interruptions.
Good point about the super stations. As a kid Chicago channel 9 made me a cubs fan and since they sucked back then it wasn't a bandwagon thing. It was down to access. On summer vacation id watch the Cubs every day
Great video. What's interesting is that ease of access on TV is one of the biggest problems in the UK. I used to have a season ticket at city until a few years back, when I moved countries. I can now get every Premier League Game legally for 11 quid a month. There is no way to do that legally in the UK for any price. Not sure how the prices stack up in the US but having I assume every game is available.
awesome video
They'll probably have four quarters in the World Cup!
we had a World Cup here 30 years ago
@studentofthegame I know,they wanted four quarters then but failed!
@@PUNKinDRUBLIC72 Evidence of this "wanting 4 quarters"?
@@StylistecS Advertisment,you have Google.
@@PUNKinDRUBLIC72 where did they say they would have 4 quarters in the 1994 world cup?
Do American fans usually support a single team, or do they tend to follow their favorite players and switch allegiance when players move? I’m curious because, for many fans, there’s something special about sticking with a club through the ups and downs over the years.
@julian_b While there is a certain segment of US fandom that does tend to support the player rather than the team (or club if were talking specifically about soccer/football), by and large US fans are usually loyal to the badge on front rather than the name on the back. As it is with supporters in Europe and around the world, most people's fandom for a particular sports team is something that is passed down to them by their parents, other family members, or because of where they were born or where they grew up.
To speak specifically about soccer fandom (I'm going to use soccer from here on out because we are talking about American fans, and I am an American responding), it is a little different here because most didn't grow up with a club, so they are either introduced to it via a friend or family member. NBC's coverage (along with CBS's Champions League coverage, which should also be studied as it relates to this topic) has slowly changed that dynamic, but it's still the the case for many US fans. For instance, an ex-girlfriend of mine still consideres herself a Liverpool fan because I am a Liverpool fan and I'm the one that introduced her to the sport and took the time to explain it to her.
US soccer culture has also helped it grow amongst the fans and create loyalty with US fans. Using my ex again as an example, we would get up early to go to watch Liverpool play at a soccer bar with other Liverpool fans. That camaraderie and ambience made it easier for a neophyte like her to fall in love with the team and the sport. "How so?" you may ask. Let me explain.
When a soccer newbie goes to watch a match at a pub or establishment for the first time, they are welcomed and made to feel "part of the group". People will explain what's going on, teach them some of the songs/chants, and probably even buy them a "welcome pint" (the fact that soccer gives them a perfectly valid reason to have a pint at 7:30 a.m. also helps). Some may not necessarily fall in love with the team/club, but they do tend to fall in love with the sport.
I hope this rather long-winded explanation helped answer your question. Feel free to ask any follow-up questions if you are so inclined.
I don't think Americans as a whole are invested in a football team like the English are with their clubs and all that history and culture English clubs over 100 years old have in Football.
@@rohanmarkjay I can understand where this sentiment comes from, but I think it is incorrect and misguided. Just because an American fan wasn't born in England doesn't mean they're automatically going to be any less loyal to a club. In fact, I would argue that an American - or any other international citizen's - fandom should be respected more than it is precisely because they weren't surrounded by it all as they were growing up. Sure, there are some who had their fandom passed down by family members ("born into it", as we say), but for most, they actively had to search out what team to root for and actually researched the team they chose. I fell in love with Liverpool FC because of Istanbul, but when I read up on everything related to the team (the good and bad), I DECIDED they were the team for me. In fact, of all the various sports teams I support, LFC is the only one whom I have a tattoo of (there's a very personal reason why I have YNWA permanently on my chest but that's a deeper story I'm not ready to share). As I mentioned in an earlier reply, we are getting up at 6-6:30 a.m. on the East coast to go watch the match at a pub, and some of the west coast fans will stay up al night and not go to sleep until after the matches have finished. So, no, we may not be surrounded by 100 years of tradition - but that doesn't mean for one second that our fandom is any less fervent.
Can't speak for everyone, but I'm american and I chose to follow Roma and I've watched every wretched match of this god forsaken season (though tbf the past couple months it's gotten a lot better). Daje all the same. I will watch some other club games when players I like move around (ie Bove to Fiorentina, get well soon) but that's definitely a side dish and not the main course. I'm a fan of the club and of those who give everything for the badge
I’d love to see you do a video on MLS TV deals, because If EPL/NBC is the right way to do it, particularly in regard to accessibility, then MLS/AppleTV must be the wrong way.
Before 2010 the EPL tv rights was on Fox sports world for a long while aka Fox soccer channel, actually they had rights to other european leagues too becUse there was no demand from bigger networks to aquire them.. ESpn has some but mostlybtied to international rights, so some games did pop up circa late 90s but mone really made a impact... between the early 2000s to late 2000s soccer became more accesible thru cable pacakages, and even the spanish tv started getting demand... ESPN also had UCL rights for years too.
The real problem imo (other than being able to watch the matches) is the labour laws and lack of youth academy structure and no relegation. In europe, my nephews play for their local team and theyre 8 and 9 years old. They go to training and are taught the basics of how to play and some simple tactics, if theyre good they could be signed in the next few years and if theyre insanely good they could be playing professionally by their teens. Consider someone like Lamine yamal, instead of dominating the euros at 16 in the usa he would be stuck in high school waiting to go to college before he can hope to be professional. Its why euro basketballers are dominating the NBA too, instead of sitting in american school playing with other highschoolers, the europeans are playing professionally for years before coming to the NBA. In most of europe the uk etc you do real exams which give you qualifications that can get you jobs at around 16 years old, not some teacher marked nonsense, real regulated examination boards set the exams and if you do well enough you can leave school and start working basic jobs, there is no general education beyond 16, university you only study your degree choice, no mindless general subjects, no PE etc. Americans are stuck in a structured education system longer and have less real world competitive experience meaining that the usa produces less superstars that can really get people into the sport. Right now there cant be the next leo messi because he only became who he was by being signed by the barcelona youth academy and moulding him into a superstar. I know theres some standouts btw like Freddy Adu and Christian Pulisic (who moved to Borussia Dortmund’s academy in Germany as a teenager). But if you've looking into adus story he had major hurdles, his development was not supported by a robust academy system comparable to La Masia or other European academies.
He bypassed the structured, long-term developmental environment that European players like Lamine Yamal experience. Instead, he was thrust into the senior game prematurely. Also european Academies provide a full-time, integrated approach where education, nutrition, physical training, and mental coaching are part of a young athlete’s daily life. This is legally supported in Europe, where training can count as part of an apprenticeship.
Great analysis. I think a big part of it is, and you did touch on this, that Americans are not accustomed to being in the middle of the pack and not being Number 1. The average American will never be able to accept that countries like Uruguay, Croatia and Morocco, let alone England, Germany and France are way higher up the rankings than them. All of the team sports that the US competes in are ones where they are either the only ones who play it (American Football) or are by far the strongest and best at it (Baseball, Basketball).
As an Englishman in Liverpool, its Great to see The World Game of FOOTBALL steadily grow and prosper in North America. This time it Will Succeed, yet you are on a process - journey so go with The Flow! It its GREAT that The F.I.F.A. World Cup Finals are being held in North America again ... just to let you know what F.I.F.A. stands for F= federation I= international F= football A= association as The World Name for The World Game is FOOTBALL ... Fact!.
Some long term and short term issues you need to deal with ...
A long term issue, given The U.S is virtually a Continent (Your States are bigger than most Nations around the World) therefore you should set up State Leagues instead of going too and frow across The U.S.
A short term issue, your Top League The M.L.S. needs to work in tandem with your lower league counterparts in setting up Relegation down and Promotion up, that ads more exactment and hart ache! we have it all around The Football World.
One last point ... We play on a Football Pitch !.
A corrupt organisation.
@@thelegend3965 No (and regrettably) F.I.F.A. is a corrupt organization
@merseydave1 then you don’t understand the American mindset
Relegating teams would not be popular or economically viable in the US. We have 50 states which can act like 50 different countries
If I’m on the west coast and my team gets relegated then I’m not interested in watching teams in another part of the country slug it out. This doesn’t happen in other major sports because teams play until they get to a set stage- final 4, final 8 etc so there’s a vested interest in the team. If there’s a lesser or relegated league and no chance to win the big prize then Americans are less invested and interested. I know in the nfl there’s the chiefs, eagles patriots and I know my team might not beat them but on a bad day for the top teams my team might win. It’s just different. As an American whose family has been here for 10 generations I see mostly immigrant kids interested in the sport.
@ yeah, for us it’s tribal. Americans aren’t really invested in whom they support like we are.
@@nicoles9077 Promotion and Relegation happens all around the World in Football ... The great thing is you can "come back" and other teams can "get up" ... its very exiting.
I grew up 500 yards from the Tottenham ground and have supported them since the early 70's . I have an excuse, what's yours? Lol
There are a few reasons the US lacks in football but two really stand out.
1) Abysmal youth development.
the US refuses to invest in any game they cannot milk. Playing a full 90 mins with just a 15 mins break is not profitable for the broadcaster when you can slam an ad break in every 2 mins during handegg. This leads youth development to fund itself for the most part in the US when it comes to football. Even Pulisic had to travel abroad and dig into his slavic roots because the US develpoment was so bad. David Beckham has set up his own acadamies in the US for the same reason. Compacting this is the fact young budding talent is swayed towards basketball, baseball or handegg, rather than football at a very young age. this further drains potentical talent at grassroots level. If you are a kid and not from a rich family, then you don't have much choice, you can't afford to fund yourself at that age. Europe and South america invest *heavily* at that level, and this then filters through to those national teams. Its why nations like China and India are also terrible at that level. No investment at the critical stage despite their massive populations.
2) Lack of Competition.
The US plays in the CONCACAF block, and thus it measures its success against teams like Mexico. This is laugable to European nations. I have seen videos of overconfident US pundits thinking they have a good chance by using *Mexico* as the measuring bar. Mexico would struggle to even qualify for the Euros. As the US plays in CONCACAF it is locked out of playing any actual heavy hitters. Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Portugul, England, Belgium, The Netherlands. The US never plays them, and thus it never gets an actual sense of it's own level. It is an average fish in a small pond that never plays any of the big boys save once every 4 years and then it get walloped in the knockout stages - if it gets that far. In fact, the US have not beaten England since 1993, and thats arguably the weakest of the big names.
Now, you could argue 'What about friendlies' and yes, the occasional friendly against these teams *can* help get a better measure of where the US plays at, but you need to take into account two things - the fact that it is very rare to even play a friendly against these teams and the fact that in many cases, (once every 2 years) these teams are facing the US right before a *major* tournement. They will likely not be playing to win, they are just trying to survive the match without injuries, which means they may not have a full strength roster out there and will probably be half-assing it.
The only real measure the US ever gets of its own level is the world cup - once every 4 years, and while there is not much anyone can do about that, it is still a factor to consider. One thing i will say though is i am glad that football is becoming more popular in the US and i think NBC made the right call broadcasting it how they did.
I think that if someone leaves a comment that gets up to 500 words or more, they should be legally required to make their own video
@@studentofthegame I think if anyone makes a vid 10 mins or longer about a sport then they have too much time on their hands. But hey, who am i to judge?
I agree, I have drastically seen an increase in American football UA-camrs in the last 3 years.
I’m been off of the NFL primarily because of the glut of commercials.The 2 minute warning was implemented for one reason $😤
Great video 👍 This video should be shown in all the American business schools and could change america😮
I think what's interesting is that the US team is getting better evidenced by the fact that dual nationals are choosing the US over other teams, partly due to the likelihood of playing time, and because they'd rather be the star of a developing team which can get better each tournament, and being the host of the next World Cup, rather than being a cog in an established national team.
I was at celtic v chelsea and celtic v man city games and there is a huge difference in the way the teams were supported. The celtic fans were either Scottish and Irish which is no surprise considering how fanatical they are but the American celtic fans were all part of supporter clubs and had a community of celtic fans because you can't be an armchair celtic fan as the tv deal is terrible in Scotland Scotland. The city and chelsea fans were American armchair fans that had no support community but this is the fan the epl wants
I wouldn't watch West Bromwich Albion vs Hull on a Saturday morning either...and I live in West Brom.
Fantastic video. 👍🏼👍🏼
I wish soccer interests were not growing in the US. As a culture, we and the billion owners ruin everything.
My belief is that the US judge sports based on entertainment and on field success + commercial success, so you have franchises and ban relegations and promotions. However in England, traditionally your football club represents your community, it becomes part of your family, getting close to religion levels. A promotion/ relegation system massively increases jeopardy where the result is far important than entertainment. Football is so important in England, it’s much more than just a sport and in England there are some really big clubs playing in the lower divisions.
It is quite cool to see Americans start to enjoy the premier League. I don’t know about anyone else though, but I can’t stand them dressed up in a Man City shirt.
I love the fact you have shown Norwich city lots of times…come on you yellows 😊
Well if Americans are playing in the English Premier League that is naturally going to attract a larger American fanbase. When Norwegians played in the English Football league first division fore runner to the Premier League in the 1970s. It attracted a large number of Norwegian fans to English football. Americans have been following English football even before the English Premier League. One or two Americans were playing in English Football in the 1980s. Like John Harkes of Sheffield Wednesday. Anyway English Football is not boring. Fans are very passionate and coaches in English football are encouraged to attack. Quality might not always be the best. But excitement factor is quite high. Whats not to like about this league. Personally I like English Football from the 1970s and 1980s just seem more real and less corporate. However Premier League attracting players from all over the world since mid 1990s has made it the most watched league in the world even in Latin America.
it's funny, football is booming in the US, while American football is getting pretty popular over in Europe
Football may have been invented in England but has long been a international game ,poor kids can kick a ball around on a beach or back street, it cost very little to play a game , problem is businessmen in the US have tried to promote the game in the US from the top down not the bottom up . This is changing but it’s taken wasted decades to build an infrastructure, oddly they are making the same mistake in the oil rich Arab countries you can’t buy legacy . The US is producing some great players now
Respect bro 🏴 🇺🇸
Always hard an interest due to the passion of the fandom, unfortunately latched on to Tottenham as “my team”paying the price now!😩
And now the US has better coverage of the Premier League than the UK does because of the stupid 3PM blackout.
I still think replacing Arlo White was wrong, he got done dirty
I did not like that either. I liked Arlo White. I do love Peter Drury though but since he went to Sky full time, it's just been ok.
Love the shirt mate. C'mon you Sours!
This was a nice video, would America take on Promotion or Relegation? It means that most cities would have 2 soccer teams, this is Choppy
Americans get insecure from football, your words LOL
unironically I think this is the core issue in America's relationship with football/soccer
Do more people in the US follow Premier League, Bundesliga, Seria A etc. on TV than their own domestic MLS? How does the MLS popularity compare?
Do you think the MLS should definitely add relegation and promotion to their league season?
I don't think we're ready for pro/rel yet. If a team from LA or NYC or some other big city got relegated and replaced by Memphis or Omaha or wherever that would effectively tank the league
Considering American women have been the most dominant team I had to rule my eyes quite a few times during this video but that is the reality in every nation women teams just don't shape soccer culture as much
When you say "the rest of the world calls football," you should make it clear that that does not include the majority of native-English speakers in the majority of native-English speaking countries (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, USA) - who commonly call it "soccer." Apparently, the English also commonly used the word soccer until the 1980s.
Get Celtic in Scotland into the EPL... Make it happen and the club will have a massive international fan base.
That’s been discussed numerous times and will never happen. Celtic and Rangers would go from top of the league with guaranteed European competition to mid table at best. Look at the Welsh clubs, it’s not exactly been the best for them
@@Smoneey EPL is on a roll and don't need it to happen. That's the major thing stopping it. What is the incentive. Celtic and Rangers would build over time in the EPL and Celtic would attract wealthy owners. I wouldn't want Scottish football to suffer either. But it comes down to whether the clubs want to stay a big fish in a small pond. Ultimately, that is a short-mid term strategy and football will go increasingly international and they can't compete in the big market due to playing in the SFL without the big dollars to recruit. But I'm not from the UK anyway, but just saying the way I things changing over time and how they need to adapt.
@@Smoneey I reckon the current situation of team playing in their league and internatinally against other clubs won't go on forever. I expect that you could get clubs being invited to play in other international leagues and money talks. That's where football is going. Scottish clubs just need to do what's best for their fans.
Nice video
We need an expansion USA team in the premier league stat!
You don’t get awarded a spot in the premier league. You have to earn it by getting promoted throughout the league system by winning. The issue with an American expansion team is how do you fly 15 random dudes from various UK towns and villages to the US 20 times a year when the expansion team starts at the bottom of the football pyramid.
@@palpedersen2804 It would be funny if a US team had to fly 4,000 odd miles to play Carlisle Utd though 😊
There's rumours that Eon Musk wants to buy Liverpool
He won't, we won't let him near our club! Ynwa
Not a semi fascist sort of town.
Yeah that's probably the city not the football club 🤔
Just another reason for them to be the club I love to hate!
As a season ticket holder for Spurs and an NFL fan, I can see why British wont commit to NFL and American wont commit to football. Mostly ignorance and pride.
We already have two different sets of rules for egg chasing. Why do we need a 3rd?
COYS!
Soccer's following is gaining at the NFL's loss. The NFL have themselves to blame because they move teams around i.e. the Raiders, Chargers, and Oilers. How do you build a loyal fanbase if you keep doing that? It's discrediting.
Ultras
That's fine as long as the US doesn't dictate or change rules to suit the Americans "way of playing the sport." We've seen too many dumb rule changes in their own sports leagues (NBA, NFL MLB) which some.doesn't make sense or to "neutralize" a player....REAL International FOOTBALL is just right. America should adapt to the sport not the other way around
This is a worrying problem with the sport of Cricket 250yrs old and India controls the game now simply because it's where money is many sports need to be protected by law.. Sad but true ❤❤❤❤
When the World Cup tournament was held in States the TV executives wanted the game to have four quarters, as opposed to two half’s. The was sold on the pretext of making the game more ‘familiar’ to the US viewers, absolutely nothing to do with try to cram more advertisements into the match day experience. If the US wants to fully embrace football then don’t try to americanising the game, it’s fine as it is. Off topic slightly, but as a long standing Forest fan it’s great to have them pushing for a European place come the end of the season.
What you said isn't exactly true. Yes you needed a specialty channel. But Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports World would play every game of the day in its entirety from basically the enception of the network.
that is fair. I don't think it was quite as comprehensive as NBC's programming package or coverage though
@studentofthegame streaming didn't exist. Every game got broadcast day of, even if all but 1 of the 3PM kickoffs had to be on tape delay.
were they doing their own production or just using world feed?
@studentofthegame live games had a studio. But they used the world/sky sports feed for commentary. Just like how NBC does except for the 1 game where they don't.
Advice to anyone from the US who wants to watch English football, don't watch the Premier League, watch Championship football.
Yeah I think Championship football is more like the authentic English Football style of the 1970s and 1980s. You know the Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, John Barnes days. Premier League is more like a another version of the La liga but at faster pace and more attacking. I can understand why many fans looking for authentic English football like in the good old days would rather watch Championship football instead.
This is why america needs greenland!
Why spurs ?
presented by a Spurs fan!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Too bad the network that airs the Prem in America does a terrible job at it.
Unlike to watch the World Cup by why should I watch regular soccer which is a second rate league when all of out other leagues are world class?
Have you done the statistics on how many central and south americans now live in United States. How much does the latino and hispanic population increase by each year? then you have immigrants from other countries in Asia and Europe that love soccer. Is it any surprise that it will grow? US now has lots of Indians and Pakistan people, and surprise surprise you're seeing the rapid growth of cricket but from a very small base. You saw a lot of Jamaicans go to Canada and suddenly Canada had a side good enough to play in the cricket world cup...
If your a spurs fan you cant really know thst much about football.
SAKKER😂😂😂
didnt espn have rights?
they did but not to very many games