We are now into spring on the sports calendar, knocking in the door of a busy sports summer. Here in the United States, it means the playoffs are on in the NBA and NHL, baseball is its early stages of its season, and other things as well. But outside of America, football is heading towards the end of its season as well. That is, association football, better known as soccer. Last year, we had a World Cup that captivated the attention of both the world and America, and thanks to one of the best WC tournaments ever and the popularity of the U.S. National Team during their run, interest in the world's most popular sport in the world's largest country is at an all-time high, and is destined to only grow.
But soccer in America was just on the cusp of mainstream popularity even before the kickoff of Brazil 2014, and before & since the sport has never been widely popular than ever here. There's been increased viewership and exposure in properties large & small from the UEFA Champions League and the European leagues, to Major League Soccer, Mexico's Liga MX and more. But the greatest success story in soccer's huge growth over the past year belongs to its biggest year-round property.
There's no doubt...it is the world's most prestigious year-round soccer brand, the most-watched sports league on earth and the greatest contribution to the international sports spectrum by the jolly old folks of the United Kingdom. The Premier League - the Barclays Premier League as its sponsored name or simply English Premier League outside of Great Britain - is the epitome of the world game at its very best. It's the glitz and glamour of football's greatest players playing every week in stadiums rich in history, in a nation that pioneered the sport and its professional model, and in front of fans that worship the game that has made the top flight division of the English football pyramid the biggest draw to soccer fans everywhere.
The Premier League is the world's most-watched soccer/football league, beamed by 80 different broadcasters to 212 territories, 650 million homes and a potential viewing audience of 4.7 billion people. It ranks as one of the world's most-attended sports competitions, with an average attendance per game at over 30,000. The world's greatest players play every week: from Wayne Rooney and Sergio Augero, to Robin Van Persie and Tim Howard, all representing 70 nations joining homegrown talent in England. Many of soccer's most famous clubs play in the EPL, and thanks to its equalized revenue distribution model, has provided some of the most competitive, unpredictable and exciting action anywhere, especially with chances at glory and heartache at every corner.
