History of Soccer in the USA

Origin of Soccer in America

Soccer was introduced in the U.S. by immigrants from England, Scotland and Germany in the late nineteenth century through the ports of New Orleans. The FA rules are believed to have been first used in a U.S. match in November 1869 between Rutgers University and Princeton University.Governance in soccer was introduced in the region in 1884 through the American Football Association. Its initial influence was centered in parts of New Jersey and New York but it later spread to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. In its first year of existence, AFA planned a non-league cup. Confusion between the use of ‘association football’ and ‘American football’ prompted the use of soccer to refer to association football in the early 1920s.

The American Amateur Football Association & United States Soccer Federation

The American Amateur Football Association was created in October 1911 and was set to rival the AFA. Both the AFA and AAFA sought recognition from FIFA in 1913 as the national governing body.

Struggle within the AFA saw AAFA take the honors as United States Football Association (currently the United States Soccer Federation-USSF) in April 1913. The soccer war that ensued between the USFA and American Soccer League run by AFA eventually led to the fall of the sport.

The sport emerged again and gained much popularity in the 1960 to 2000 period. At this time, Pele from Brazil was signed by the New York Cosmos in 1975. His reputation in soccer attracted more interest in soccer. In addition, soccer matches during the 1984 Summer Olympics garnered large crowds prompting FIFA to consider holding the FIFA World Cup in the U.S in 1994. This was a significant boost in the evolution of this sport.

Throughout the history of soccer in the United States, the organization has been known by three different names:

    U.S. Football Association - 1913-1944
    U.S. Soccer Football Association - 1945-1973
    U.S. Soccer Federation - 1974-Current