Are you ready for some futbol?
Michael Lewis II
| 2 min read
After four years of waiting, the World Cup is once again upon us. Since its establishment in 1930, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) men’s national soccer teams compete quadrennially for the World Cup Championship.
For many of us, the World Cup may not be as well known as the Super Bowl or NBA championship. However, the World Cup is the third most popular sporting event ahead of both the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals. The advantage is that it is an international event. This year, the world cup is expected to produce $11 billion in revenue and tally more than 700 million viewers worldwide.
While soccer is one of the top sports internationally, Americans seem to prefer basketball and football over futbol. However, there is an opportunity to get your soccer experience right here in Metro Detroit.
Futbol in the D
Although the World Cup is being held more than 4,000 miles away in Brazil, the city of Detroit has its own soccer experience. The Detroit City Football Club is an American soccer club that plays in the National Premier Soccer League. In only two full seasons of play, Detroit City has gone from 5-2-5 to 12-1-1 including an undefeated regular season.
During the season, Detroit City plays its home games at Cass Technical High School. There has been a record 1,700 fans in attendance at a single game and with $5 tickets, it comes as no surprise.
In addition to the Detroit City Football Club, there are a number of local soccer clubs to enjoy. Lansing United is also a part of the NPSL. They are conference rivals with the Detroit City. Lansing United is coming off a 4-2-2 season finishing behind Detroit City in the Great Lakes West Conference.
The Michigan Stars Football club wraps up the list of Michigan soccer teams. Formally known as the FC Sparta Michigan, the club was purchased and moved to Dearborn by the Dearborn Sports Enterprise. The team placed fourth in the Great Lakes West division going 3-0-6 last season.
So we have to ask, are you ready for some futbol?
Photo credit: Globovision
