The Game of Soccer

As everybody knows Soccer (as they call it all over the world football) is the most popular sport in the world. It is played by hundreds of millions of people rich and poor all over the world. In fact the one of the biggest sporting event in the world is World Cup Soccer. In Europe the richest players are in Soccer and they are also the biggest stars. In fact when the soccer is being played between two European countries, there is always a danger that the losing side fans will lash out and burst into mindless violence. There are several great teams like Liverpool and Manchester United in the U.K. and Real Madrid in Spain and also the Soccer mad nations of South America and the Middle East also have their share of fanatic fans and players alike. I have seen small and poor kids play soccer in the streets of Iraq and Saudi Arabia and you don’t have to be rich to indulge in this sport. It just a bit strange that the world most powerful country in terms of economic and military might does not have national soccer team or any regional team for that matter. Although I see that soccer is a very popular sport during the elementary and middle school and millions of kids play this game every day and to my surprise there are cheerleaders for soccer teams also but curiously this enthusiasm fizzles in the high school years and you don’t see that much activity at that time and most of the boys get involved in football, baseball and basketball while some girls still play soccer but a lack of encouragement stops them from pursuing this game to the fullest.