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Soccer

Soccer, also referred to as football, and association football is widely believed to be the most popular sport in the world. In North America, Soccer's popularity is less than the other major North American Sports (baseball, basketball, football - the American version, and hockey), but it does have a fairly significant fan base (in 2005 2.9 million people attended Major League Soccer games according to Major League Soccer).

Soccer is a sport with a very long history. Games where people kick a ball with their feet can be dated back to 1500 BC. English public schools are widely credited with key achievements in the creation of modern football during the 1600s. In the 1800s, teachers and former students were the first to write down some formal rules for early modern football. The Football Association (FA) created the first comprehensive set of rules for soccer in 1863. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) ratified what is the basis for the modern rules of the game of soccer in 1886 in England.

In 1904, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was formed in Paris as the the international football governing body. FIFA agreed that they would adhere to the rules set forth by the IFAB. The original rules have only changed slightly since then.

Professional Soccer

In North America there are several major soccer organizations that field over 40 professional soccer teams.

Canadian Soccer League (CSL)
Major League Soccer (MLS) - MLS is the main professional men's soccer league in North America that currently fields 12 teams.
Major Indoor Soccer League (MILS) - MILS is a men's professional indoor soccer league that currently fields 8 teams.
United Soccer Leagues (USL) - The USL is a group of soccer leagues that field men's teams at the professional and amateur level, and women's teams at the amateur level. The USL First and Second Divisions currently field 21 men's professional teams.

College Soccer

Soccer is played by men and women in colleges and universities at all three NCAA levels (NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III) as well as the NAIA. Soccer is a fall sport in colleges and universities. For more information on college soccer see:

Amateur Soccer

Many different organizations run soccer programs across North America. Following are some of the major amateur soccer organizations.

Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)

The Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU as it is more commonly referred to, runs soccer programs for children in levels U8 through U18. The AAU provides opportunities for teams to compete in national events or conduct their own local leagues or tournaments.

American Youth Soccer Organization

In existence since 1964, the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is a non-profit organization that develops quality youth soccer programs for children ages 4 to 19.

United Soccer League

The United Soccer League has several different highly competitive amateur leagues, including:

The USL Premier Development League (PDL) which is the top U23 men's amateur league in North America
The USL W-League which is highest level of women's soccer in North America
The USL Super-20 League which is the only men's and women's U20 league in North America
The USL Super Y-League which fields highly competitive teams for boys and girls from U13 to U17

US Youth Soccer

US Youth Soccer was founded in 1974 and is s the largest member of the United Stated Soccer Federation. US Youth Soccer through its organization of over 300,000 volunteers runs soccer programs for over 3 million children from ages 5 to 19.