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Tag: United States National Soccer Team

  • Pelé remembered for transcending soccer around world

    Pelé remembered for transcending soccer around world

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    NEW YORK — Pelé was remembered for a life beyond the field, for transcending the sport of soccer and becoming perhaps the most well-known person on Earth.

    “Before Pelé, ’10′ was just a number,” current Brazil forward Neymar wrote following the soccer great’s death Thursday at the age of 82. “That line, beautiful, is incomplete. I would say that before Pelé soccer was just a sport. Pelé changed everything. He transformed soccer into art, entertainment. He gave voice to the poor, to the Black and above all he gave Brazil visibility. Soccer and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure.”

    Pelé scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches and is the only three-time world champion, winning titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970. His death was especially impactful for generations of Brazilian players who idolized him.

    “Today Brazil waves goodbye to one of its most illustrious children,” wrote Romario, a 1994 World Cup champion who used Pelé’s full name in his post. “Edson Arantes do Nascimento made the world bow to his talent and took Brazilian soccer to the altar of gods. Throughout his life, Pelé inspired generations of athletes and deserves every tribute.”

    Ronaldo, who led Brazil to a fifth World Cup title in 2002, described Pelé as “Unique. Genius. Skilled. Creative. Perfect. Unmatched.”

    “What a privilege to come after you, my friend,” Ronaldo wrote. “Your talent is a school through which every player should go. Your legacy transcends generations. And that is the way you will continue to live.”

    Pelé was a revered sports figure to a level probably not comparable to any athlete other than Muhammad Ali. As comfortable mingling with heads of states and celebrities as he was evading defenders, Pelé made an impact in capitals across continents.

    “As one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together,” former U.S. President Barack Obama wrote.

    President Joe Biden tweeted: “For a sport that brings the world together like no other, Pelé’s rise from humble beginnings to soccer legend is a story of what is possible.”

    Pelé’s greatest impact was in Brazil, a unifying figure celebrated during the 2014 World Cup.

    “I saw Pelé play, live, at Pacaembu and Morumbi (stadiums),” former Brazil President and current President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote. “Play, no. I saw Pelé give a show. Because when he got the ball he always did something special, which often ended in a goal. … Few Brazilians took the name of our country as far as he did. As different from Portuguese as one’s language was, foreigners from the four corners of the planet soon found a way to pronounce the magic word: ‘Pelé.’”

    For a half-century, people who knew the name of only one soccer player knew Pelé.

    “He made people dream and continued to do that with generations and generations of lovers of our sport,” France coach Didier Deschamps said in a statement. “Who, as a child, didn’t dream of being Pelé? … Pelé was the alliance of beauty and efficiency. His talent and his list of achievements will stay engraved in our minds forever.”

    French soccer star Kylian Mbappé tied Pelé for sixth in career World Cup goals with a hat trick in this month’s loss to Argentina in the final. Four years ago, Mbappé became only the second teenager — after Pelé — to score a goal in a World Cup final.

    “The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten,” Mbappé wrote.

    “Pelé not only filled football stadiums with exhilaration but he filled hearts and homes with hope and the knowledge that adversity was surmountable,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement Friday. “His endurance and impact on the field of play inspired the resilience with which Pelé worked for peace and justice globally.”

    When Pelé’s condition worsened last month during the World Cup in Qatar, get well messages were flashed on the sides of buildings in Doha. The English Football Association lit Wembley Stadium’s arch in Brazil’s colors on Wednesday night. FIFA, soccer’s governing body, changed its website’s homepage to photos of Pelé with a black background.

    “Pelé did things that no other player would even dream of,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote. “The sight of him punching the air in celebration is one of the most iconic in our sport, and is etched into our history. In fact, because televised football was still in his infancy at the time, we only saw small glimpses of what he was capable of.”

    When Pelé played for the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League from 1975-77, he helped spark soccer’s rise in the United States, leading to the nation hosting the World Cup in 1994.

    “Pele was truly a remarkable figure — on and off the field,” said FIFA Council member Sunil Gulati, a former U.S. Soccer Federation president. “The world has lost a once in a lifetime sportsman who leaves an extraordinary legacy.”

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    AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Women’s sports saw pivotal growth in deals, interest in 2022

    Women’s sports saw pivotal growth in deals, interest in 2022

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    South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been around women’s basketball long enough to see the growing pains of a young WNBA league gradually shifting to increased interest in the sport at all levels.

    “We probably are bursting at the seams for the people that are decision-makers in our game to allow us to be just that,” said Staley, who led the Gamecocks to their second women’s hoops title this year.

    Popularity across women’s sports has grown steadily over the past few years, but 2022 marked a pivotal moment as several sports saw increases in viewership and ratings, sponsorship deals and prime-time coverage.

    This past WNBA regular season was the most watched since 2006. And storylines were plentiful as the league contended with the detainment of Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner and the retirement of one of the league’s most popular players in Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird.

    According to ESPN, which aired 25 regular-season games and the entire postseason, the 2022 playoffs averaged 456,000 viewers — up 22% over 2021’s postseason — making it the most-viewed WNBA postseason since 2007. The WNBA draft averaged 403,000 viewers, which was the most since Diana Taurasi was the top pick in 2004.

    WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said her league and the women’s college game build off each other.

    Engelbert said the NCAA Women’s Tournament, which had the most viewed championship game in nearly two decades, built momentum for the women’s game heading into the WNBA season. Now she wants to see how far that growth can go.

    “I’m never satisfied,” Engelbert said. “My team is like ‘Ask for more.’ When you’re in hyper growth mode that’s how you have to do it. We don’t rest. We have to take advantage of the momentum when you have it. … You have to keep pushing, too.

    “We’re underinvested and undervalued.”

    The league has a deal with ESPN/ABC through 2025 where the company paid the WNBA $27 million in 2021 and $28.5 million this past season. That number goes up $1.5 million per season until it hits $33 million in 2025.

    At the collegiate level, division I football players continue to exponentially out-earn athletes in all other sports. But name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have been a game changer for female collegiate athletes, particular in non-revenue producing sports. NIL allows women to take advantage of large social media followings and earn sponsorships with brands like Champs and Adidas.

    Olivia Dunne, a gymnast at LSU, has over 8 million followers across all of her social media platforms, more than any other female collegiate athlete. Her sponsorships include deals with the clothing brand Vuori and American Eagle.

    From the July 2021 inception of NIL through November, women’s sports occupied six of the top 10 highest-earning sports by NIL compensation, according to the NIL technology and marketing company Opendorse.

    “The student-athletes are using social media to build their own audiences, which is driving more interest and tune in to their sports,” said Blake Lawrence, CEO at Opendorse. “The industry is feeding itself … the more marketable the women’s sports athletes, the more engaged their audience will be, the more engaged the audience will be, the more marketable the athletes become.”

    Women’s soccer has also enjoyed a boost in 2022.

    The sport has seen increased global revenue from sponsorships and broadcast deals, according to a survey by FIFA, the sports’ governing body. In an October report, the organization found that clubs reported year-on-year commercial revenue growth of 33% — indicating growing interest from sponsors; 77% of leagues had a title sponsor in 2021, up from 66% the previous year.

    That structural growth was coupled with unprecedented overall interest in the game.

    An August friendly between the United States and England at Wembley sold out in a day and drew nearly 78,000 fans. That was after 87, 192 people watched England defeat Germany 2-1 in the European Championship finals. It was the biggest attendance for a European Championship match, men’s or women’s.

    “The number and the types of different platforms that are highlighting women’s sports, not just women’s soccer, it’s just showing overall that there is interest,” said Kate Markgraf, the general manager of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

    In the United States, the National Women’s Soccer League saw growing popularity amid the backdrop of a league-wide abuse scandal.

    In August, an independent investigation commissioned by U.S. Soccer found that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct in its pro league were systemic, impacting multiple teams, coaches and players.

    Still, the NWSL title game on Oct. 29 averaged 915,000 viewers on CBS in prime time, a league record.

    As the sport gains global momentum ahead of next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, U.S., Markgraf expects this year’s trend to continue for the foreseeable future, and she wants the success and popularity of women’s soccer to impact fans personally.

    “When you go to a game and you watch it, it’s like, huh, and you leave changed,” she said. “And the more frequently they happen, the longer they resonate. … That’s the goal of U.S. soccer, is to be one of the preeminent sports in our country.”

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  • Soccer writer Grant Wahl dies at World Cup match in Qatar

    Soccer writer Grant Wahl dies at World Cup match in Qatar

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    LUSAIL, Qatar — Grant Wahl, one of the most well-known soccer writers in the United States, died early Saturday while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands. He was 48.

    U.S. media seated near him said Wahl fell back in his seat in a section of Lusail Iconic Stadium reserved for journalists during extra time of the game, and reporters adjacent to him called for assistance. Emergency services workers responded very quickly, the reporters said, and the reporters later were told that Wahl had died.

    “He received immediate emergency medical treatment on site, which continued as he was transferred by ambulance to Hamad General Hospital,” the World Cup organizing committee said in a statement, which did not list a cause of death. “We are in touch with the US Embassy and relevant local authorities to ensure the process of repatriating the body is in accordance with the family’s wishes.”

    Wahl tweeted on Wednesday that he had celebrated his birthday that day.

    “We could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists,” the U.S. Soccer Federation said in a statement. “Grant’s belief in the power of the game to advance human rights was, and will remain, an inspiration to all. Grant made soccer his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us.”

    Wahl was covering his eighth World Cup. He wrote Monday on his website that he had visited a medical clinic while in Qatar.

    “My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you,” Wahl wrote. “What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.”

    Wahl wrote that he tested negative for COVID-19 and sought treatment for his symptoms.

    “I went into the medical clinic at the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis. They gave me a course of antibiotics and some heavy-duty cough syrup, and I’m already feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No bueno,” he wrote.

    Wahl wore a rainbow T-shirt in support of LGBTQ rights to the United States’ World Cup opener against Wales on Nov. 21 and wrote that security refused him entry and told him to remove the shirt. Gay and lesbian sex is criminalized in Qatar, a conservative Muslim emirate.

    Wahl wrote he was detained for 25 minutes at Ahmed Bin Ali stadium in Al Rayyan, then was let go by a security commander. Wahl said FIFA apologized to him.

    U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted late Friday: “We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Grant Wahl and send our condolences to his family, with whom we have been in close communication. We are engaged with senior Qatari officials to see to it that his family’s wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible.”

    Wahl is survived by his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, an associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, attending physician at Bellevue Hospital Center and CBS News contributor.

    Gounder tweeted that she was thankful for the support of her husband’s “soccer family” and friends who had reached out.

    “I’m in complete shock,” she wrote.

    Among Wahl’s work before he began covering soccer exclusively was a Sports Illustrated cover story about LeBron James in 2002, when James was a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.

    “He was always pretty cool to be around. He spent a lot of time in my hometown of Akron,” James said in Philadelphia after the Los Angeles Lakers lost in overtime to the 76ers. “Any time his name would come up, I’ll always think back to me as a teenager having Grant in our building down at St. V’s. It’s a tragic loss. It’s unfortunate to lose someone as great as he was. I wish his family the best. May he rest in paradise.”

    A voter at times in FIFA’s annual awards, Wahl had been among 82 journalists honored by FIFA and the international sports press association AIPS for attending eight or more World Cups.

    “Only some days ago, Grant was recognised by FIFA and AIPS for his contribution to reporting on eight consecutive FIFA World Cups, and his career also included attendance at several FIFA Women’s World Cups, as well as a host of other international sporting events,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “His love for football was immense and his reporting will be missed by all who follow the global game.”

    Wahl graduated from Princeton in 1996 and worked for Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2021, known primarily for his coverage of soccer and college basketball. He then launched his own website.

    Wahl also worked for Fox Sports from 2012-19.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Argentina-Mexico World Cup Spanish TV gets 8.9M US viewers

    Argentina-Mexico World Cup Spanish TV gets 8.9M US viewers

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    Argentina’s 2-0 win over Mexico was the most-watched Spanish-language World Cup group stage broadcast in U.S. history, draw 8.9 million viewers on Telemundo television and the streaming services of Telemundo and Peacock

    DOHA, Qatar — Argentina’s 2-0 win over Mexico was the most-watched Spanish-language World Cup group stage broadcast in U.S. history, drawing 8.9 million viewers on Telemundo television and the streaming services of Telemundo and Peacock.

    The game, which started at 2 p.m. EST Saturday, topped the previous group stage mark of 5.7 million set in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Serbia, a 2 p.m. EST kickoff on Nov. 24. The overall U.S. Spanish-language record is 9.2 million on television for the Netherlands’ 2-1 win over Mexico in a round of 16 game on June 29, 2014, a Sunday match that kicked off at noon EDT.

    The Argentina-Mexico match set a record with 2.08 million viewers of the streams on Telemundo and Peacock, topping the 1.35 million for Mexico’s 0-0 draw against Poland on Tuesday, the networks said.

    Telemundo and Peacock are part of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corp.

    Fox has U.S. English-language television rights.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Pele congratulates Weah for World Cup goal against Wales

    Pele congratulates Weah for World Cup goal against Wales

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    DOHA, Qatar — Brazil great Pele congratulated United States forward Timothy Weah for scoring his debut goal in the World Cup in the Americans’ 1-1 draw with Wales.

    Weah got his goal in the 36th minute of Monday’s game to become the first player to score against Wales in a World Cup since Pele, who was 17 years old when he did it in 1958. That was the last time Wales played at the World Cup before this year in Qatar.

    Weah posted a photo of him celebrating the goal on Instagram and Pele congratulated him in the comments section.

    “Congratulations. It was a beautiful goal. Keep dreaming, dreams come true,” Pele wrote.

    Weah responded to “Papa Pele” by thanking him for the “inspiring message.”

    “It is such a blessing and an honor to receive such an inspiring message from The King himself,” Weah wrote. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for the world and us young black men. Grandes Abracos.”

    The 22-year-old Weah is the son of George Weah, the current president of Liberia and the 1995 world player of the year. Weah has scored 18 goals in 75 appearances for the United States.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • US to face Vietnam, Netherlands at women’s soccer World Cup

    US to face Vietnam, Netherlands at women’s soccer World Cup

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    AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The defending champion U.S. team will face Netherlands in the group stage of next year’s soccer World Cup, setting up an early rematch of the 2019 World Cup final.

    The Four-time champion United States was drawn in Group E with Vietnam, the Netherlands and a playoff winner at the official draw conducted in Auckland on Saturday.

    The tournament has been expanded to 32 teams drawn into eight groups of four.

    The U.S. will play all of its group matches in New Zealand. The tournament will be held at 10 stadiums in Australia and New Zealand in July and August next year. The match against the Netherlands will be at Wellington on July 27.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup

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  • Spain blanks US; Americans hadn’t lost 2 straight since ’17

    Spain blanks US; Americans hadn’t lost 2 straight since ’17

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    PAMPLONA, Spain — Laia Codina and Esther González both scored for Spain in a 2-0 victory Tuesday over the U.S. women’s national team, which lost a second straight game for the first time in more than five years.

    Codina scored in the 39th minute. It was the first goal off a set piece that the United States had conceded since last summer’s Tokyo Olympics. Gonzalez added a goal in the 72nd.

    The United States hadn’t lost two straight since the March 2017 SheBelieves Cup, when the team lost consecutive games to England and France.

    Both teams are preparing for next summer’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The United States, the world’s top-ranked team, has won the last two World Cups.

    Both teams also have been rocked by scandals, with Spain missing some of their best players because of it.

    The U.S. players are reeling following the release last week of a report on misconduct in the National Women’s Soccer League. A year-long investigation led by former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates found “systemic” abuse and misconduct in women’s soccer.

    U.S. captain Becky Sauerbrunn said players were “horrified” by the revelations. Five of 10 coaches in the NWSL last season were either fired or stepped down amid allegations of inappropriate behavior. Yates also offered recommendations for change going forward.

    Meanwhile, a group of Spanish national team players recently called on the federation to professionalize the women’s team. But the federation responded by saying the players asked for coach Jorge Vilda to be fired, which the players denied.

    The federation made matters worse by asking the players to apologize and ask for forgiveness. In announcing his team for a pair of friendlies this month, including Tuesday’s game, Vilda excluded the players who called for change, among them Barcelona’s Patricia Guijarro and goalkeeper Sandra Panos, and Manchester United’s Lucia Garcia. Jenni Hermoso and Alexia Putellas were not included because of injury.

    The United States was coming off a 2-1 loss to England on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd at Wembley Stadium. The Americans have conceded goals in their past three matches, after allowing just two total goals in its previous 19 games.

    Spain was coming off a 1-1 draw with Sweden in Cordoba.

    The United States won the previous three meetings against Spain.

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    More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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