The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the United States, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highest soccer authority in the country. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) governs most colleges; secondary schools are governed by state-level associations, with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) setting the rules at that level. The match regulations are generally the same between the three governing bodies although there are many subtle differences.
Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and of the San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse. It serves as the home of San Francisco City FC of USL League Two.
Providence Park is an outdoor soccer venue located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. It has existed in rudimentary form since 1893, and as a complete stadium since 1926. Providence Park is currently the oldest facility to be configured as a soccer-specific stadium for use by a MLS team, and is one of the most historic grounds used by any United States professional soccer team.
WakeMed Soccer Park is a soccer complex in Cary, North Carolina, United States. It consists of a purpose-built, soccer-specific main stadium named WakeMed Soccer Park Stadium, two lighted practice fields, and four additional fields. The main stadium and the two lighted fields are all FIFA international regulation size. The stadium seats 10,000, while Field 2 also has 1,000 permanent bleacher seats. The complex also sports a full-length cross-country course and houses the offices of Triangle Professional Soccer.
The Seattle metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States is home to several professional and amateur sports teams. They include seven teams in major leagues, several in minor leagues, and collegiate programs for two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I universities and one NCAA Division II university.
Athletes and sports teams from North Carolina compete across an array of professional and amateur levels of competition, along with athletes who compete at the World and Olympic levels in their respective sport. Major league professional teams based in North Carolina include teams that compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The state is also home to NASCAR Cup Series races. At the collegiate and university level, there are several North Carolina schools in various conferences across an array of divisions. North Carolina also has many minor league baseball teams. There are also a number of indoor football, indoor soccer, minor league basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams based throughout the state.
Beirne Stadium is a stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island. It is the home stadium for the Bryant University college football and men's and women's lacrosse programs. Beirne Stadium will also host USL Championship club Rhode Island FC during their inaugural 2024 season. The stadium holds 4,400 people and was built in 1999. It was renamed from Bulldog Stadium on September 24, 2016. It has also hosted numerous events for Rhode Island High School State Championships.
Snapdragon Stadium is an outdoor stadium in San Diego, California, located on the campus of San Diego State University at SDSU Mission Valley. The stadium is home of the San Diego State Aztecs football team. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I (FBS) as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW).
Fifth Third Stadium, known as Kennesaw State University Stadium until 2013, is a stadium near Kennesaw, Georgia, that is primarily used as the home for the Kennesaw State Owls football team as well as the KSU women's soccer and women's lacrosse teams. It was built as a soccer-specific stadium and opened May 2, 2010, with the first match played on May 9. The facility is the result of a public-private partnership between Kennesaw State University and the now-defunct Atlanta Beat of Women's Professional Soccer.
Competitive men's professional soccer has been played in the United States since 1912 and since 2001 for women's. Numerous leagues have existed over the years with some recognized by the United States Soccer Federation and some not. The lists below are the single game attendance records for men's outdoor (60,000+), women's outdoor (20,000+), and men's indoor (18,000+) matches in American club soccer.
Sports in San Diego includes one major professional sports team, other highest-level professional teams, minor league teams, and college athletics. The most prominent team in San Diego is the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). San Diego FC will begin play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2025. San Diego State Aztecs teams play in NCAA Division I (FBS). The Farmers Insurance Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Sports in Atlanta has a rich history, including the oldest on-campus NCAA Division I football stadium, Bobby Dodd Stadium, built in 1913 by the students of Georgia Tech. Atlanta also played host to the second intercollegiate football game in the South, played between the A&M College of Alabama and the University of Georgia in Piedmont Park in 1892; this game is now called the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The city hosts college football's annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the Peachtree Road Race, the world's largest 10 km race. Atlanta was the host city for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics, and Downtown Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park was built for and commemorates the games.
Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the U.S. existed only on a limited basis. The U.S. is now regarded as one of the top countries in the world for women's soccer, and FIFA ranked its national team #1 in the world after its back-to-back Women's World Cup victory in 2015 and 2019.
The expansion of the National Women's Soccer League began with the league's sophomore season in 2014, when the league expanded to a ninth team in Houston, and is an ongoing process that currently has seen five expansions, three direct or indirect relocations, and one contraction. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was established as the top level of professional women's soccer in the United States in 2013 in the wake of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is the top-tier professional women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2013, the 2019 season, the last before COVID-19, saw an average 7,337 spectators among the 9 teams, the highest average attendance in league history. Its overall attendance in 2019 was also its highest ever, with 792,409 total. The overall attendance record was broken in the 2022 season, the first since 2019 to be relatively unaffected by COVID-19, with a total of 1,042,063. However, the per-game record from 2019 remains intact; the league had 10 teams in 2019 but expanded to 12 for 2022. The NWSL has the highest average attendance per game among all women's professional sports leagues in the United States.
The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from the Western New York Flash. The Courage is affiliated with the men's team North Carolina FC of the United Soccer League and plays its home games at the WakeMed Soccer Park.
San Diego Loyal Soccer Club was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship. The team shut down following the 2023 season after failing to find a long-term home venue.
San Diego Wave FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in San Diego, California, playing in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Wave FC began play in the 2022 season as an expansion team. The team plays their home games at Snapdragon Stadium.
The 2022 San Diego Wave FC season was San Diego Wave FC's inaugural season as a professional women's soccer team. It plays in the National Women's Soccer League.
