Complete Bid Book – United Bid

4
General Information
Over the past three decades, football in the CONCACAF
region has experienced seismic growth, driven in large
measure by a strong foundation in Mexico, and the
transformation of Canada and the United States into
mature football markets.
4.5 Football in North America
The dramatic changes in broadcast technology and social
media have allowed North American fans to be fully engaged
with global football. The growth in each of the three Host
Countries has been heavily influenced by the successful
hosting of major FIFA events.
■■
Mexico was privileged to host two legendary FIFA World
13
FIFA World Cup and
Championships hosted
Cup Finals (in 1970, won by Pelé’s Brazil, and in 1986, won
by Diego Maradona’s Argentina) that drove its football-mad
population to new heights that rank it today among the
world’s top ten football nations (ahead of even Spain, Brazil,
and Italy in percentage of people interested in football).
■■
The FIFA World Cup USA 1994 drove a doubling of youth
football participation in America, launched Major League
Soccer (MLS), the professional 1st division, and triggered
an explosion of televised football with annual program hours
increasing more than ten-fold to over 6,000.
■■
When Canada hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup
Canada 2015, it broke records for attendance, television,
and digital audiences, while inspiring a new generation of
young women across the continent.
Football Across North America (as of 2017) CAN MEX USA
General Participation 818,940 260,291 4,241,186
Youth Players 671,488 126,877 3,990,998
Professional Leagues (Men) 1 4 3
Professional Leagues (Women) 0 1 1
Professional Teams (Men) 3 313 52
Professional Teams (Women) 0 16 10
Average Attendance (MLS & Liga MX) 22,106 23,549 22,112
A B C D E 4 General Information 41/474