Soccer's Steady Growth in the US

The World Cup has come and gone, but its effect on the American sports public is easy to see.

Ken Belson of the New York Times writes of soccer's steady growth in the United States.

Even though the American team had long since left the tournament, more than 24 million fans watched the championship match, between Spain and the Netherlands, on ABC and Univision, a figure more than the average viewership for last year’s World Series games between the Yankees and the Phillies.

Midfielder Landon Donovan became a household name thanks to his on-field exploits for the United States. Americans bought more tickets to World Cup games than fans from any country other than South Africa, and more than half a million fans are expected to see Europe’s best teams play in the United States this summer, including the 44,213 who saw Manchester United beat the host Philadelphia Union, 1-0, on Wednesday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Major League Soccer also got a boost from Thierry Henry, the French striker who signed with the Red Bulls this month. Henry made his debut Thursday, scoring his team’s goal in a 2-1 exhibition loss to Tottenham Hotspur in Harrison, N.J. He is the latest in a string of high-priced, aging superstars to join M.L.S., a list that includes Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Freddie Ljungberg and David Beckham.

“Our challenge is how to convert all that interest in the event and sport over all to passionate support for an M.L.S. club,” said Don Garber, the commissioner of the league.

Even the most ardent soccer fans ought to temper their enthusiasm, experts who follow the sport in the United States say. Every four years, the impact of the World Cup has been subtle and sometimes slow to emerge. And though the benefits to M.L.S. are often the easiest to track, the World Cup has also rubbed off on youth soccer players and soccer fans who follow overseas leagues.

“The M.L.S. won’t be the N.F.L. in our lifetime,” said Jeff L’Hote, a consultant to soccer teams and companies interested in working with them. “Maybe it’s not as sexy as some want, but we’ll see steady growth.”

Still, growth is growth. This year, M.L.S. signed two World Cup sponsors — Castrol and Continental Tire — to multiyear, multimillion-dollar league sponsorships. In June, the Aon Corporation, an insurance giant based in Chicago, won the rights to have its name on the shirts of Manchester United, the world’s most recognizable team, for four years.