COMMODORE MEDIA GROUP

Photo by Jake Wegesin and can be found at jakein3d.com

Soccer in the United States of America is growing and a huge part of it is the South and the amount of players incoming from South America.

In the south, teams in places like Atlanta, Houston, and Orlando have a lot of cultural diversity in their cities and have some of the rowdiest fans. For example, in Atlanta you can find foods like barbeque, Mexican, and even Korean food in the middle of the city. These teams have fans show up to every game, with Houston averaging 16,900, Orlando averaging 23,800, and Atlanta taking the cake with 53,000 people turning up. Atlanta also holds all the top ten attendance records in the Men’s Soccer League (MLS) with the highest attendance being 72,000 people for the game against Seattle on July 15, 2018. MLS is also adding two more teams down south which include Nashville SC and Inter Miami.

Another reason for the growth of the MLS is the recruitment of young South Americans. There have been 26 new players join the MLS this season and their impact has been huge. These players are Franco Escobar of Atlanta United and Ezequiel Barco, also of Atlanta United. They are big players in this Atlanta team that could be the champions of the MLS. Other notable names that are in the MLS are Josef Martinez, the golden boot winner, Miguel Almiron, Mauro Manotas, and Alberth Elis. These players have been on top of the league this year and two are in for the Landon Donovan award— Miguel Almiron and Josef Martinez. These players have been some of the most exciting to watch play in the MLS and now are at the top of the league.

It’s not just the young South Americans putting in all the work. The other nationalities are taking over the league also. Now the leagues average age is 24 years old, meaning the MLS has some of the youngest players to showcase to the world. Some of these young players are Alphonso Davies, who is on his way out to Bayern Munich, Zack Steffen, who could be going to Manchester City, and Kellyn Acosta, who has made appearances for the men’s national team this year. They all have been noticed by large scale teams. They are all products of the league and have been bringing attention to the MLS. Zack Steffen, 23, has been one of the best goalies to play in the MLS and has won the MLS goalie of the year award and was in the MLS starting XI. Alphonso Davies is the other MLS player that will be leaving soon and scored 8 goals and got 9 assists all at the age of 18. Next is Kellyn Acosta, 23, who has already played in 23 games and scored 2 goals for the USMNT.

Also MLS has something that no other league has: playoffs. This gives the fans a reason to stay and watch to see who can finally get that last push to make the playoffs and possibly win the MLS cup. This gives fans more to watch and not lose hope when someone runs away with the league in the 4th month of the season. Teams that win the Supporter’s Shield, which is the team that has the most points at the end of the season, don’t alway win the cup. Like right now, Atlanta United beat the Red Bulls, who won the Supporter Shield and will play in the MLS championship.

The MLS is growing and expanding its reach to people with its young, vigilant players and soccer-loving southerners. Also, the fact that your team has a chance to win or lose the season every year is a big part in the relevance of the league.