Page 21 - The Future is Futbol_September 2022_Draft

THE FUTURE IS FÚTBOL | 2022 REPORT

Becoming the First-Choice Sport
of Young People in the U.S.

Fútbol is the sport of America's future. Young people are increasingly
choosing to play it over any other team sport. High school soccer
participation increased 32% from 2002 to 2019, far more than the
average growth of basketball (-6%), American football (-2%), baseball
(6%), or ice hockey (7%). And soccer is egalitarian considering the girls
play almost as much as boys, with participation growing 31% for girls
versus 33% for boys from 2002 to 2019.
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Soccer is already the most popular team sport among 40% of Hispanic
high school students who say they played or were planning to play the
sport in 2020, compared to 21% of all high school students.
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There were 394,105 high school girls who played soccer in 2019, a figure
not far behind the 459,077 high school boys who played. In addition
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to the benefits of physical activity, fútbol is for everyone, breaking
boundaries and fostering confidence, encouraging friendships, and
bringing people together.

When it's become the first-choice sport of youth…
it's becoming ingrained in our culture.
If soccer isn't the new sport in America,
it's the sport in the new America.

–Matthew McConaughey,
co-owner of Austin FC. 19

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