Football has gained a foothold in the United States, and the country seems ready to host the World Cup this summer – which was not clear in 1994.Back then, when the US last hosted the World Cup, the country had no professional league and the national team was cobbled together with ex-collegians, journeymen, and semi-professionals.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Leading into ’94, we were at risk on the ticket side,” former US Soccer President Sunil Gulati told Al Jazeera in a recent interview. “For the US Organizing Committee, it was a big concern if we could sell all the tickets.’’In the end, the 1994 tournament was successful. A record 3.5 million (68,991 per game) attended matches; the US advanced from the group stage for the first time since 1930, losing 1-0 to eventual champions Brazil in the last 16; and seeds were planted for a professional league, Major League Soccer.Football has since moved from the margins to the mainstream in the US.MLS is thriving, the national team is ranked a creditable 16th in the world by FIFA, and as the World Cup returns this summer, ticket demand far outpaces supply.“If you said in 1994 MLS would be a 30-team league, with [22] soccer-specific stadiums and averaging 20,000 crowds – not in our wildest dreams,” Gulati said.“The landscape is completely different. The most visible thing is t …
