World Cup fuels more interest in soccer among fans and youth athletes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The United States were eliminated from the World Cup Monday night, ending the country’s dream of winning it all. All wasn't lost as a Louisville soccer club is seeing an impact from the tournament.

Falls City Soccer Club co-owner and director Deron Schulten said the club is seeing more motivation among young players. Schulten recently hosted his second impromptu mini camp during the World Cup, with roughly 75, U-9 and U-10 players attending across the two camps.

“I think the World Cup has had a tremendous impact on the motivation of players here in town at least,” Schulten said. “I would assume across the country.”

Many young players at Tuesday’s camp wore jerseys of their favorite players. Schulten said the children's have taken a great interest in these athletes.

“They know what clubs they play for, not just the countries they play for, but what clubs they play for,” Schulten said. “They know how old they are, they know how long they’ve been playing, they know who coaches their favorite team.”

Schulten said Falls City Soccer Club also had 100 to 125 more players than usual attend tryouts before the World Cup began.

“I think it’s been great to bring more eyes to the game, get some more fans, educate more people,” Schulten said. “So, we’re definitely seeing the impact.”

Louisville City FC is also seeing signs of increased interest. The club’s July 4 match drew 10,500 fans, making it the second-highest attended match of the season behind its Thunder Over Louisville game.

“They’ve got traditions and things and for that many people to put all those aside and come out and watch us play, I think speaks to the soccer fever that is catching on around the city a little bit,” said Jonathan Lintner, vice president of marketing and communications for LouCity and Racing Louisville.

He said LouCity and Racing Louisville have been encouraging fans who watched the tournament on television to support their local professional teams. Lintner said that after the 2022 World Cup, Louisville City saw increased interest the following season.

"It was played November and December and if anybody here follows the sports calendar, that's up against college football and college basketball at the same time, not an ideal time to be playing the World Cup," Lintner said. "The games were not on in primetime like they are now. And yet, we saw season tickets go up. We saw our highest attendance for Louisville City ever in the 2023 season."

Litner said it's too early to say how this World Cup will impact ticket sales, however both LouCity and Racing Louisville can continue riding the momentum the World Cup has started as the Women's World Cup approaches next summer.

"It's almost like as soon as that men's game ended last night, I started to see some chatter about, well the Women's World Cup is next year. What's that going to mean? And how are we going to do? The U.S. team is probably going to be the favorite to win that."

Racing Louisville returns home to Lynn Family Stadium at 8 p.m. Friday. Louisville City plays a rivalry match, also at home, against Lexington SC at 8 p.m. Saturday.

According to FOX, the U.S. final World Cup match against Belgium was the most-watched match in American history, peaking at 36 million viewers.