It was star-spangled soccer. This is the story of how the modern game of football was born in the USA. From its fledgling beginnings with the North American Soccer League (NASL) America didn’t just grow the game, it helped change football forever.
By the late 1970s the NASL was booming with superstar players such as Pele, Best, Cruyff, Marsh and Beckenbauer entertaining packed stadiums. But, while the NASL would collapse by the early 1980s, children continued to play the sport. And the college system would help fuel the rise of the US Women’s National Team who would go on to World Cup and Olympic glory, transforming the women’s game globally. In the men’s game, the new MLS would see a resurgence with the arrival of Beckham and today’s superstars such as Messi.
A new two-part BBC Northern Ireland series, Pitch Invasion: How The USA Changed Soccer, kicks-off by looking at how the NASL was a game changer for football. American fans wanted to be entertained and soccer was given a makeover in typical US style with mascots, family friendly stadiums, cheerleaders and celebrity players sporting their names on the back of their shirts.
It was leagues ahead of English football in the ’70s with its crumbling stadiums, hooliganism and grim atmosphere.
Narrated by Patrick Kielty, the series features former players who enjoyed careers in the NASL including Harry Rednapp, Rodney Marsh, Bruce Grobbelaar and Jimmy Nicholl.
Made for BBC Northern Ireland by DoubleBand Films, the series also features Pelé’s manager, Rose Ganguzza, former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis, comedians Maisie Adam and Shane Todd alongside contributions from authors and historians of American soccer.
The series, which starts on Monday 8 June – three days before the FIFA World Cup kicks-off on June 11– on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Northern Ireland, gives fans an eyewitness account of how soccer in the NASL was ahead of its time in many ways and tells the story of how soccer in the USA is back in the big time.
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