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International Soccer

International Soccer

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INTERNATIONAL SOCCER

Through the 1980s, it was difficult to watch domestic or international soccer in the United States. Though the US had a professional men's league, it was not broadcast locally in Pittsburgh. After the United States hosted a men’s World Cup in 1994, a new professional men’s league was established, and television channels began broadcasting American and  European men's soccer widely. Increasingly, promising young men went abroad to Europe to train with the professional soccer teams.

 

However, women’s soccer lacked a stable professional league in the United States, even after hosting the World Cup in 1999. Despite the international success of the US women's national team, women's soccer remained a second-class sport for many American viewers. For women, the route to international soccer ran through the college system. The passage of Title IX in 1972 increased the number of women’s high school and college programs, creating a homegrown development system. 

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