Hooked on the World Cup? It’s Time to Pick a Domestic Club

The 2026 FIFA World Cup isn’t over. It won’t conclude for another week. But the United States Men’s National Team unceremoniously were bounced from the tournament by Belgium (again) with an awful 4-1 loss last week.

50.1 million people watched them lose on Fox, Telemundo and Peacock combined. The largest audience for a non-NFL game since the 2016 World Series. People are into the World Cup! But just because the USMNT are out, doesn’t mean there isn’t soccer/football to watch.

Fox 4’s Harold Kuntz rightly pointed that out to ESPN host Pat McAfee last week who said, “soccer was so much fun.” It still is Pat!

And McAfee isn’t alone. The elimination of the US Men’s National Team means that lots of people won’t watch soccer again for four years (or at least until the Women’s World Cup next summer). Or maybe they’ll simply wait until the English Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1 or another foreign league returns.

It’s time to support your local soccer team!

Whether that’s Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, indoor soccer, or other lower division soccer, there are many options. The KC Soccer Journal tends to focus on the biggest teams in Kansas City, but there are numerous options.

The most obvious locally are Sporting Kansas City (MLS) and the Kansas City Current (NWSL). But don’t forget the KC Comets (MASL), the Astras (MASLW), SKC II (MLS Next Pro), KC Current II or any of the other local teams.

If you are in a city other than Kansas City, there are numerous other MLS and NWSL teams, but there are also many lower division squads to support in the USL Championship, USL League One or League Two, MLS Next Pro, MASL, MASLW and more!

A quick internet search will allow you to get involved easily.

Why Support Local Soccer?

In traditional American sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL), the fan experience is largely engineered from the top down by the front office. The stadium plays a specific sound effect on third down, and a giant video board tells you when to clap.

Soccer is different. Supporters’ Groups often sit behind one (or both) goals and help create the atmosphere. They play drums, wave flags and sing for 90 minutes. There is just something about being in a soccer stadium that isn’t the same as the other sports.

Speaking of 90 minutes, that’s a great in and out experience. You watch two 45-minute halves (there are no commercial breaks in the middle like at the World Cup) and there is a 15-minute halftime, and you are out.

That is, if you want to be. You could come early and enjoy meeting players before the game or tailgating with fellow supporters. Leading up to a big home match, you can help paint a Tifo with fellow supporters (and sometimes even players from the team). Your level of involvement is up to you.

Credit: Thad Bell

And it’s much more affordable, despite how the World Cup made it seem. The KC Current are a bit pricier due to their 11,500-seat stadium always being sold out, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to a Kansas City Chiefs game. And they are looking to expand their stadium.

Because Sporting KC are in the middle of a rebuild, tickets are quite affordable. With a new majority owner of SKC, he’s injecting plenty of money into the team too and may even bring Egyptian World Cup star, Mo Salah, to town.

The NWSL is arguably already the best women’s league in the world. MLS isn’t there yet, but if you look at the quality of the players and the play, it’s steadily increased in its 31-year existence.

It’s time to find a local team and jump on the bandwagon. Don’t wait four years to watch another soccer match. You’ll regret it!