If you´re a soccer fan, the U.S. must be your paradise at the moment. And move over NY, LA has just been ranked as the best city for soccer and admirers of ´the beautiful game.´ Call it world football (to distinguish it from that gladiatorial combat called American football) or soccer: it´s simply the fastest-growing sport in the States.
LA: Ever Prominent in MLS
Like New York, Los Angeles boasts two prominent MLS teams. The game between the more traditional LA Galaxy and relative newbies LAFC shattered all league attendance records. On July 4, 2023, some 82,110 sun-soaked spectators flooded the Rose Bowl as the Galaxy walked away with a 2-1 win.
Wallethub, the financial site, came up with a study to pinpoint the most soccer-friendly city in the U.S. It scanned 300 cities across the country with at least one college or pro soccer team in five divisions, working with 52 diverse metrics.
The results showed that ´The City of Angels´ is the most soccer-friendly city in all of North America. The Southern Cal city ended up five points higher (with a score of 56.87) in the ranking than second-place Seattle. It sat six points higher than third-ranked Portland. Well, even the more-than-ample Pac NW precipitation can´t keep the fans locked up at home.
Why Is LA The Best City for Soccer in the U.S.?
Curiously, the two LA teams play a mere 12 miles apart, but ´cannibalism´ remains mute. They both typically sell out their stadiums. In addition, they show off two of the most loyal MLS fan bases.
Lots of wins and championships don´t hurt. Couple these with community work off the field, outstanding players, high franchise values, and popularity among the vast number of Hispanics who accompany both teams, and you have some reasons why L.A. is the best city for soccer in the U.S., according to Luis Guillermo Vázquez at en.as.com.
Carlos Vela: LA´s Mexican Master
Mexican superstar Carlos Vela is a key reason for LAFC´s on-field success. He also helps its box office draw power, given LA´s proximity to soccer-mad Mexico. “For sure, a lot of good things are coming,” Carlos quipped while kicking off in April 2023.
That attitude can explain the whopping 70 goals and 48 assists Vela has racked up in 123 regular-season games at LAFC. And he might have gone way beyond those flashy stats if not for nagging injuries in 2020 and 2021.
Of course, LA isn´t the only soccer hotbed in MLS. Commish Don Garber gives a special shoutout to Saint Louis, another long-time bastion of soccer fandom.
“This is a community with soccer at its heart, and that doesn’t happen everywhere in MLS. We built a fan following and supporter culture in many cities across this country that had to learn about the game. In this city we delivered the game and the next generation of what MLS is and can be,” Garber gushed.
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