The United States was the first British colony to begin playing soccer-style games and a form of football was played in Jamestown in 1609. Schoolboys and college teams first played soccer in the United States and it was considered a game mainly for the upper classes. After the demise of college soccer in 1876, the game transitioned to working-class players. During the 1890′s the game of soccer spread to Denver, Cincinnati, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

In the early 1900′s soccer was still being played mainly in working-class communities along the northeastern part of the United States.Additional information can be found at http://www.examiner.com/soccer-in-seattle/american-national-soccer-league-includes-four-washington-state-sides. The leagues formed were mostly amateur and semi-professional. During the 1920′s the popularity of the sport blossomed and the American Soccer League was founded in 1921. In 1930, the United States participated in the first World Cup in Uruguay.

In spite of the end of the first American Soccer League in 1933, the game continued to be played in ethnic communities and service clubs. The second American Soccer League was reorganized from the original league to include a new lineup of teams in 1933. The 1960′s witnessed the transition of soccer from the ethnic communities into mainstream America when spectator sports rose in popularity due to the expansion of travel, communications, and television transmission into American homes. In the 1970′s soccer became a popular youth participation sport.

In 1988, a group of United States Soccer veterans promoted professional soccer using a financially conservative approach and created a third new American Soccer League. In 1994, the United States hosted the World Cup making it the largest event in the history of American soccer. In 1996, Major League Soccer had a successful year and continued to make slow, steady improvements towards American soccer infrastructure and the future popularity of soccer in the United States.