After the World Cup: How to Start Watching Soccer

Lamine Yamal and his teammates are World Cup champions. Image from Tom Weller/picture-alliance/dpa/AP.

This summer’s World Cup brought international soccer to Seattle, with 6 matches hosted at Lumen Field. Many Bellevue students attended World Cup games, watched the matches on TV with friends and family, or saw countless videos about the event or the players on social media. For many Bellevue students (including myself), it felt like while the tournament was happening, their summer revolved around when matches were being played each day. But now that the tournament is over, viewers may be wondering what to watch next.

For many, the answer is club soccer, where the same players compete for their club teams year-round.

Soccer differs from traditional American sports in its global scale. Unlike in America where each sport has one main league that is viewed internationally, such as the NBA for basketball and the NFL for football, soccer features a plethora of leagues because each country has one or multiple local leagues for club soccer.

Since sorting through the dozens of leagues that exist for club soccer can be overwhelming, it may be best to start watching matches from one of these three popular leagues.

First is the Premier League in England. In my opinion, this is the best starting point in terms of starting to watch professional soccer. The Premier League is overwhelmingly considered the most competitive league in the world. English soccer dominates international viewership, therefore if your friends or family regularly watch professional soccer, it is likely they watch the Premier League. For that reason, if you enjoy the social aspects of watching sports, such as gathering at a friend's house to watch a game, I suggest starting here. Games air on U.S. weekend mornings and are available to watch on Peacock or USA network. Stars to watch include Norway’s Erling Haaland (Manchester City), England’s Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).

Junior Ansh Kela watches the Premier League and supports Manchester United. For him, the sport creates personal connections. “What I like about watching soccer is being able to watch games with my dad and getting to make new friends with the same interests,” Kela said.

Similarly to Kela, junior Josie McAughan follows the Premier League. “I like watching the Premier League and my favorite team is Tottenham," she said. "I like when my team wins because it’s once in a blue moon.”

Another popular soccer league that World Cup viewers may enjoy is Spain’s La Liga. Famous for tactical play, heavy possession, and technical skill, La Liga is home to two of the world's biggest sports franchises, Real Madrid and Barcelona, where superstars like Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal play. From my perspective, La Liga is the best choice for viewers who play soccer and want to borrow skills and tactics from the matches they watch to improve their style of play because teams like Barcelona are notably filled with very talented technical players and coaching staff. Matches are available to stream on ESPN on Saturdays and Sundays, however there are occasional weekday games.

Last is the local selection for American fans: MLS (Major League Soccer). This is a great league for Bellevue students to begin watching if they want to go to games in person because Seattle’s MLS team, the Sounders, play about once every two weeks at Lumen Field during the Major League Soccer season.

As one begins to watch soccer, it is important to remember that you don’t need to memorize every rule or roster to start enjoying the sport regularly, the first step is just to watch a game!