The U.S. may be out of the World Cup, but don’t think the stunning support the team garnered didn’t make an impression – a big enough one that FIFA’s top brass threw around words like “staggering” and “unprecedented” and broached the idea of the U.S. bidding to bring the World Cup stateside in 2026.
“There is a commitment to work with U.S. Soccer,’’ FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke told Brazil newspaper Globo. “What we see in the United States is staggering. The audience is unprecedented, more than the NBA.
“The country has the largest level of youth soccer in the world, with 20 million young people playing. … I think after 2022, they have an interest in hosting the 2026 World Cup.’’
The U.S. surprisingly surviving the Group of Death before losing to Belgium in the Round of 16 captivated national attention. President Barack Obama told Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey: “You guys did us proud. You guys did great. To see the way you guys captured the hearts of a whole country is unbelievable. … What you guys accomplished is really, really significant. It’ll make a difference in the country.’’
But if their play helps the U.S. land a World Cup in 2026 – or even 2022 – it will make an even bigger difference than anybody could have imagined.
“The level of interest in the USA is very high,’’ said FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who echoed Valcke’s sentiments. “This World Cup is really getting under people’s skin – the quality of the football is incredible.’’
FIFA executive committee member Sunil Gulati – who is the president of U.S. Soccer and on the staff at Columbia University – is in on record as saying the U.S. would consider a bid for 2026, but only if the bidding rules change and the process becomes “more transparent and fair.’’
The U.S. had initially planned to bid for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups before deciding to focus on its 2022 bid. Qatar controversially won the 2022 bid, but subsequent investigative reports revealing evidence of corruption in the bidding process – along with climate and human rights issues in the Middle Eastern nation – have some hoping for a change of venue to the United States.
With the U.S. having hosted the most commercially successful World Cup ever in 1994 – with a record average attendance of nearly 69,000 – it was considered by many to be a logical choice. The fan support for the U.S. this year has only buoyed the country’s chances as a potential host.
The U.S. had the most supporters of any country traveling to Brazil, more than South American powerhouse Argentina, defending champion Spain or noted fanbases like England. And the U.S. games against Portugal and Belgium delivered NFL-type ratings, the two most-watched soccer games in U.S. history.
Viewership for this World Cup was up 44 percent over 2010 and 122 percent over 2006 through the first 56 games. Sure, that interest makes the $425 million Fox spent in October 2011 to lock up World Cup rights through 2022 look smart. It will be far more important if it helps the country lock up a World Cup.