Soccer!

[mikea]

With a wee bit of trepidation, I ask whether or not there are any followers of Soccer here and if so who do they follow, does anyone go to live games and also how frequently is soccer shown on TV (MLS / EFL / La Liga etc)

I know its not the best followed sport in the US but it could have been worse... I could have asked about cricket !....

[Onshore]

I will get you a more detailed answer tonight. The short answer is yes. Boston Red Sox ownership purchased Liverpool 2 years ago, thus NESN broadcasts some English Premiere League. The New England Revolution of the MLS play out of Foxboro and Comcast broadcasts their games live. Foxboro and Fenway have both started hosting international friendlies and pre-season games for the various European leagues.

[Onshore]

And I believe that Comcast has a cricket channel you can receive by subscription...

[brk-lnt]

Despite common beliefs, soccer is a very popular sport in the US.

A large majority of 6-12 year olds play on organized leagues in pretty much every city.

Our Women's Soccer League is outstanding, and there is also indoor soccer, which can be enjoyed year-round.

I think if you come to the US you'll be able to get your soccer fix quite readily. At least until you learn to become a fan of baseball.

Cheers!

[skprbob]

ESPN also carries soccer occasionally. The best one is the Fox Soccer channel. They carry the Premier League regularly as well as FA Cup, Champions League, MLS, and various highlight and review shows. They also carry some La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga (sp?). The true football fan can get a huge fix here!

[Resident 2B]

Mike,

Soccer America has a free web service listing soccer available on TV based on your zip code. There is a lot of soccer on TV, more every year. Here is a listing of matches for this Saturday. You will need an extensive cable or satellite package to get all the channels.

SATURDAY, January 26

FOX SOCCER
Australia MELBOURNE-SYDNEY (live) 1:30 am.
FA Cup BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION-ARSENAL (live) 9:30 am.
FA Cup MANCHESTER UNITED-FULHAM (live) Noon.

FOX SOCCER PLUS
FA Cup STOKE CITY-MANCHESTER CITY (live) 7:45 am.
FA Cup NORWICH CITY-LUTON TOWN (live) 10 am.
Scotland DUNDEE UNITED-ROSS COUNTY (delay) 2 pm.
FA Cup MACCLESFIELD TOWN-WIGAN (delay) 7 pm.

FOX DEPORTES
FA Cup BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION-ARSENAL (live) 9:30 am.
FA Cup MANCHESTER UNITED-FULHAM (live) noon.

BeIN SPORT
France STADE RENNAIS-MARSEILLE (live) 10:55 am.
Italy JUVENTUS-GENOA (live) 2:40 pm.

BeIN SPORT en Espanol
Spain CELTA-REAL SOCIEDAD (live) 10:55 am.
Italy JUVENTUS-GENOA (live) 2:40 pm.

UNIVISION DEPORTES
France STADE RENNAIS-MARSEILLE (live) 10:55 am.
France EVIAN-AJACCIO (live) 1:55 pm.
Mexico QUERETARO-TIGRES (live) 5:55 pm.
Mexico MONTERREY-SAN LUIS (live) 7:55 pm.
Mexico ATLAS-AMERICA (live) 9:55 pm.

UNIMAS
Mexico TIJUANA-PACHUCA (live) 7:55 pm.

GOLTV
Germany BAYERN MUNICH-GREUTHER FURTH (live) 9:30 am.
Germany WERDER BREMEN-BORUSSIA DORTMUND (live) 12:30 pm
Brazil SAO PAULO-MIRASOL (live) 2:30 pm.
Mexico PUMAS MORELOS-ESTUDIANTES (live) 5 pm.
Mexico IRAPUATO-MERIDA (live) 8 pm.

FOXSOCCER2GO.com
FA Cup STOKE CITY-MANCHESTER CITY (live) 7:45 am.
FA Cup NORWICH CITY-LUTON TOWN (live) 10 am.
FA Cup MACCLESFIELD TOWN-WIGAN (live) 10 am.
Scotland DUNDEE UNITED-ROSS COUNTY (live) 10 am.
FA Cup MANCHESTER UNITED-FULHAM (On Demand) 11:59 pm.
FA Cup BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION-ARSENAL (On Demand) 11:59 pm.

ESPN3.com
Netherlands TBA (live) 8:30 am.
Africa Cup of Nations IVORY COAST-TUNISIA (live) 10 am.
Netherlands TBA (live) 10:30 am.
Africa Cup of Nations ALGERIA-TOGO (live) 1 pm.
Portugal BRAGA-BENFICA (live) 3:15 pm.

I also attend many live matches in New Hampshire and in Massachusetts. There are many good college venues here in NH as well as Men's and Women's Professional soccer in Mass. Not the quality of EPL for sure, but good enough to get your fix.

Youth club soccer is also strong in the southern part of NH.

Cheers!

R2B

[skprbob]

Hey R2B - Soccer bonanza! Trouble is, I don't have the cable/satellite packages one needs. Couldn't possibly watch all of them anyway - but had no idea there was so much available. Thanks! Hope mikea find some of it.

[mikea]

Hey Guys, many thanks for the replies and great info, really useful! I didn't realise that Football , sorry Soccer was so popular and was so frequently shown...

This is good for me on two fronts as I do really enjoy my soccer and would really miss not being able to watch on a reasonably frequent basis and equally, as my business is sports orientated, with soccer pretty well leading the pack, it could possibly add momentum in getting a division opened in the US ... and if that can be made to happen, guess who will be a very happy chappie!...

Cheers

Mike A

[Onshore]

I said I'd get back with a detailed answer but don't think I could add anything to what's here now.

As it would pertain to your other post on cost of things, I picked up two tickets to a US vs Spain friendly for $30 each 2 years ago. Approximately row 35, mid-pitch.

[mikea]

Originally Posted by shore things

I said I'd get back with a detailed answer but don't think I could add anything to what's here now.

As it would pertain to your other post on cost of things, I picked up two tickets to a US vs Spain friendly for $30 each 2 years ago. Approximately row 35, mid-pitch.

That is really reasonable... what is the price comparison between going to watch an MLS game versus an NFL game?

[Resident 2B]

In New England, MLS tickets are about 25% the cost of NFL tickets.

We do get a Men's or Women's National team friendly match in New England from time to time and usually a few top-name European clubs play a pre-season friendly during the summer here at Gillette Stadium.

Also, top-end NCAA Division 1 college soccer is played in Massachusetts at Boston College, both genders.

Plenty of "footie" available.

R2B

[Onshore]

Single game tickets for the Revolution range from $23 - $45. If you purchase multiple game ticket packages the cost goes down a bit. Season tickets in the mid-pitch section work out to approximately $32.50 per game per seat.

[Grant]

The new women's professional league -- NWSL -- will begin play in April, and the Boston Breakers (WPS, WPSL) will be part of the mix. This time around, it looks like they've got the league structure & model right, with US, Canadian, and Mexican national team players allocated throughout the league and those players' salaries covered by the federations. The college draft was completed on Jan 18th, and now the free agent signing process is underway. It should be a great season, featuring all the big names you've seen in the recent Olympic and World Cup competitions -- Wambach, Solo, Lloyd, Krieger, etc. The Breakers will play their home games at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville. Tickets are VERY reasonable.

More info -- www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com

[jrc]

While it is possible to find professional soccer in the US, is a long way from maintsream. You will need to search for it. The other posters have given you a start and Ibetthere is still more. But don't be fooled a lot of these matches are on backwater cable channels and your TV might not get those channels.

Face it, for the US audience watching adult soccer is a novelty, not for prime time. Every child is taught soccer during school but it doesn't translate beyond that. US pro sports start with American football, then baseball, basketball, and hockey, then a very distant soccer.

I'm not trying to dis soccer, a lot of people love it, I just don't want you to be surprised if you find it very hard to see a match.

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by Grant

The new women's professional league -- NWSL -- will begin play in April, and the Boston Breakers (WPS, WPSL) will be part of the mix. This time around, it looks like they've got the league structure & model right, with US, Canadian, and Mexican national team players allocated throughout the league and those players' salaries covered by the federations. The college draft was completed on Jan 18th, and now the free agent signing process is underway. It should be a great season, featuring all the big names you've seen in the recent Olympic and World Cup competitions -- Wambach, Solo, Lloyd, Krieger, etc. The Breakers will play their home games at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville. Tickets are VERY reasonable.

More info -- www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com

Good call regarding the Breakers. Dilboy is a great venue and tickets are very reasonable, but seating is limited and there are a lot of full and half season memberships absorbing many of the available seats. Bottom line is if you want to go, you need to plan on it as soon as their schedule is released or purchase a membership. Top membership is around $250 for the ten home matches.

As accurately pointed out by jrc, soccer is not a mainstream pro sport here, but for those that know and love the game, there are many ways to view or attend matches. I have done, and will likely continue to do, work with a WPSL team from the Boston/North Shore area. We have excellent players from NH and from the rest of the US and we usually have a National team player or two from Europe.

I know it is women's soccer and not as popular as men's soccer, but it is high quality and we have 8 to 10 matches in the Boston area each summer, usually for free.

PM me and I will provide a schedule when it is released, if you are interested.

R2B

[mikea]

Great information folks and I have to say that Ladies League football is now starting to catch on big time in Europe, mainly following the brilliant Olympic showing of last year and also as some funding is now being put into it, about time to I say!

Now then as to watching Football / Soccer (by the way did you know that Soccer is actually an old English word coming from a corruption of the original Football name of Association football which in the late 1890's was abbreviated to assoca then socca before becoming Soccer...) anyhow, back to my point, there are actually loads of means on the net to now watch most Premiership games and frankly, I'm sure they can be found in the US as the average annual audience of Premiership games now exceeds 4 Billion people in over 212 Countries Worldwide!

Plus, my company is linked to a Sports Broadcast Channel (Digital, Satellite and Web) so that would help a little

But, hey, just spending more time around the lakes and missing a few games, that's a sacrifice I'd be prepared to make!

Cheers

Mike A

[Resident 2B]

I was aware of Association Football as the basis of the name soccer, but I was unaware of the transitional steps to assoca, then socca.

I hope to win a pint or two from my soccer buds playing trivia with this.

I also should have mentioned. there is a southern NH WPSL team as well, so if anyone is interested in their schedule as well as our schedule, PM me.

Thanks!

R2B

[Grant]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

Good call regarding the Breakers. Dilboy is a great venue and tickets are very reasonable, but seating is limited and there are a lot of full and half season memberships absorbing many of the available seats. Bottom line is if you want to go, you need to plan on it as soon as their schedule is released or purchase a membership. Top membership is around $250 for the ten home matches.

As accurately pointed out by jrc, soccer is not a mainstream pro sport here, but for those that know and love the game, there are many ways to view or attend matches. I have done, and will likely continue to do, work with a WPSL team from the Boston/North Shore area. We have excellent players from NH and from the rest of the US and we usually have a National team player or two from Europe.

I know it is women's soccer and not as popular as men's soccer, but it is high quality and we have 8 to 10 matches in the Boston area each summer, usually for free.

PM me and I will provide a schedule when it is released, if you are interested.

R2B

And I've got a keen interest in this year's Breakers squad, as my daughter was just drafted by them! Where's the Lake content? She's spent every summer on Winnipesaukee...there's the tangential Lake hook...

[mikea]

Originally Posted by Grant

And I've got a keen interest in this year's Breakers squad, as my daughter was just drafted by them! Where's the Lake content? She's spent every summer on Winnipesaukee...there's the tangential Lake hook...

Very best wishes to her and I hope she does well in the Breakers squad.

Mike A

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by Grant

And I've got a keen interest in this year's Breakers squad, as my daughter was just drafted by them! Where's the Lake content? She's spent every summer on Winnipesaukee...there's the tangential Lake hook...

Now that I know who you are, and I can verify there is a lake tie-in. I wish your daughter all the best at this next level. The waters of Lake Winnipesaukee have had at least a small part in her success!


Your daughter has worked so hard to get this opportunity and I am confident she will make the best of it. I hope to see a few of her games. I wish I knew our WPSL schedule so I could buy some tickets. I also know our team will miss her skills and leadership on the pitch this summer, but we are all about player development and we are so happy she has this opportunity at the next level.

R2B

[mikea]

I'm intrigued to find out how many people (if any!) take any notice of the Soccer transfer windows that happen twice a year and indeed, do they gain any local TV coverage?

Certainly in the UK, these sessions have almost become akin to a game themselves with frantic last minute rushing around to meet the last minute deadlines set by the various Football Authorities.

Last night at 23:00 GMT was the close of the English January transfer window in which the transfers proved quite tame in comparison with other years, only £120 Million of transfers took place.

I know you have the differing drafts in the US but is it a bit of a 'silly season' like the soccer market!

[MV1]

Having lived in Germany for 3 yrs. back in the 70's I'm probably one of the few Bundeslaga fans around. Got to go back in 2011 to watch my fav team Bayern Munich play Man City in the Champs League....NOTHING even comes close to the atmosphere of the Allianz Arena...till Direct Tv pulled Gol Tv off the Sports Package I was able to follow Bayern almost every week...now I listen to the games from Bayern's web site...all that said I think the summer transfer window is alot more active in Europe. The EPL is the only league that has big name transfers in any numbers over the winter....just sayin

[mikea]

Originally Posted by MV1

The EPL is the only league that has big name transfers in any numbers over the winter....just sayin

and even that has been quite a bore this season... when the top transfer is David Beckham joining PSG it really is a worry... but all credit to the lad, donating his £3 Million playing fee (for 5 months only) to local Parisian childeren charities is a marketing masterclass... I suspect he's not quite down to the breadline as yet and in France they now have this top rate income tax of 75% (actually not relevant in Beckham's case as he would not be resident in the country for the applicable 183 days) however how would you fancy paying that level in NH guys?

[MV1]

Beckham alway's has been a class act..a winner everywhere he's gone. The big problem in Europe is alot of teams overpay for players and have to operate in the red...not good business..if you believe the press many EPL teams are in trouble as well as Spain & Italy....Germany makes all teams show they are solvent money-wise and then issue them a license to operate. Talk is the rest of Europe will adopt the German policy...

[mikea]

Originally Posted by MV1

Beckham alway's has been a class act..a winner everywhere he's gone. The big problem in Europe is alot of teams overpay for players and have to operate in the red...not good business..if you believe the press many EPL teams are in trouble as well as Spain & Italy....Germany makes all teams show they are solvent money-wise and then issue them a license to operate. Talk is the rest of Europe will adopt the German policy...

Yes, EUFA installed the plan several years ago and it comes into force bit by bit each year for all teams in Europe... They have to live within their means... and about time too!