When women’s soccer comes to mind, America comes to mind. USA is number 1 in the world when it comes to women’s soccer. How big is women’s soccer in the USA and what is the difference with the Netherlands? You can read all about it in this article!
First let’s look at the number of soccer players in the United States. About 1.6 million girls and women play soccer in the United States. There are 160,000 soccer players in the Netherlands. America has ten times as many (!) football players. This is also because more people live in the US first. No country has more women playing soccer than the United States.
More women play soccer in the United States than in the Netherlands. In addition to the number of soccer players in the Netherlands and the United States, we look at the performance of both countries. The United States has won the most World Cup titles and has finished in the top three of all World Championships. The Orange Lions won the European Championship on home soil in 2017, and in 2019 they reached the World Cup final against the United States, but lost 2-0 and finished second.
The US has won the most prizes so far and women’s football in the Netherlands is still in its infancy. So it’s very different.
Women’s soccer has been pretty big in America for a long time. In contrast to the Netherlands, women’s football has grown exponentially since the Dutch women’s team became European champions in 2017. A look at the FIFA World Rankings can tell the difference between the USA and the Netherlands. USA is at 4th place and Netherlands at 8th place. In 2014, the Netherlands was ranked 14th, where the United States has been at the top in recent years. Looking at these rankings, the growth of women’s football in the Netherlands is evident.
When looking at the difference between the level of college teams in the US and regular (non-professional) competition in the Netherlands, there are also differences. In America, girls soccer is huge in schools. The facilities are excellent, games are played on pitches and players have strength coaches and physiotherapists at every practice and match. American college women’s soccer is similar to professional soccer. Compared to the Netherlands, the facilities in the Netherlands are much less professional.
In addition, the sports experience in America is much larger, similar to America as we know it; Big and exaggerated. But especially in games, it creates an incredibly cool atmosphere and experience. You are given a certain honor and you represent your school. This means you don’t belong to a specific club like in the Netherlands, but belong to a university where all kinds of sports are played. Together with all students, you support each other and strive to achieve maximum results! So it all looks a little different than in the Netherlands.
There are enough differences to mention, but the full story of women’s soccer in the U.S. still cannot be told. Want to learn more about sports and study in the US? And does this sound like a great adventure to you? And then our latest post Women’s football initiative at VV Gemert We will contact you soon!
This article is the result of a collaboration between Vrouwenvoetbalnieuws.nl and KingsTalent.