Even those involved in the effort to stage the World Cup in America admit to a huge challenge. The potential for failure on a grand scale–sparsely filled stands, scant attention from the media, broadcasts on obscure cable stations–is great. “We’re on a missionary enterprise,” said former secretary of State Henry Kissinger (now vice chairman of the tournament’s organizing committee) last week. “We’ve got to make this sport as popular in the United States as it deserves to be.”
Soccer is popular here, but not as a spectator sport. Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser spoke for many last week when he wrote, “I have trouble with the sentence, ‘They built an insurmountable 1-0 lead’.” American teams also tend to fare poorly in international play. (In Italy, the United States was eliminated in the first round.) Nor has it helped that American TV networks can’t figure out how to work commercials into the nonstop 45-minute halves. The TNT network got poor ratings and lost money on the ‘90 cup. NBC has announced that it will not bid for the ‘94 cup, and ABC said it would be interested in “selected matches.” Only CBS where Kissinger has a seat on the board of directors- says that it will consider a full-fledged bid.
Even if a major network signs on, other obstacles remain. America has only one facility with a field wide enough for international play: Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. But none of these problems is insurmountable, according to World Cup USA 1994, the group that convinced soccer’s governing body, FIFA, to award the games to the United States. Soccer, the organizers say, was the best-attended sport of the ‘84 L.A. Olympics. And facilities such as Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium can be remodeled once the organizers make their venue choices next June. “Once Americans see the game as it’s meant to be, they’ll get excited,” says Kissinger. The spokespeople like to point out that 12 million kids play soccer in the United States and that we have more collegiate soccer than football. Those same arguments were once advanced by the north American Soccer League. The now defunct .North American Soccer League.
