Is soccer a popular sport in New York?

Competing with American football, baseball, ice hockey, and the dominant NBA, does soccer manage to carve out a place for itself in New York?

Football means something different in the USA

During a visit to New York in June 2018, when the FIFA World Cup was underway and France was winning it, I noticed that soccer generates far less passion here than it does in Europe. The 2022 World Cup followed the same pattern.
In the United States, “football” refers to American football. European football goes by the name “soccer”. Soccer’s popularity trails well behind basketball, American football, baseball, and even ice hockey, which has its own major league, the NHL.
The mighty NFL even opened an American football museum on Times Square for a while. That says a lot about American sports preferences. We’re still waiting for a soccer museum on Times Square.

Still, European soccer has made efforts to take root in North America. The United States hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1994, and the American team has performed well in recent years, though they missed the 2018 tournament. In 2022, the US team competed in Qatar for their 11th World Cup appearance.
A professional soccer league launched in 1996, modeled after European leagues.
The women’s team deserves special mention: the USA has won the FIFA Women’s World Cup four times—in 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019—largely unnoticed by the general public.
Yet soccer remains far behind other sports in popularity. Some American commentators attribute this to soccer being less violent than American football and ice hockey. Soccer also doesn’t fit well with American television advertising, which relies on constant commercial breaks—something baseball and other sports provide naturally.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Most matches will take place in the United States, particularly in New York.
New York will host the final! Learn more on our page about the 2026 FIFA World Cup in New York.

Like many things, New York stands out as an exception. It’s the only US city with two teams in the professional soccer league: the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC. Both teams are serious contenders. The Red Bulls won the championship in 2016, and both clubs attract former European stars. Thierry Henry, the former French striker, notably played for New York in the final years of his career.
New York is also home to a large immigrant population who remain devoted to soccer. French, Spanish, Italian, Argentine, and Brazilian residents gather at New York bars and restaurants on match days.
You’ll also spot soccer fields scattered around the city. Check out West Thames Park, steps from the World Financial Center, Flushing Meadows Park, or the fields along the Hudson waterfront in Hoboken. It’s always a pleasant surprise to see New Yorkers playing soccer.