{"id":711306,"date":"2026-06-03T02:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/711306\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T02:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:21:14","slug":"from-usa94-to-now-how-soccer-has-changed-since-the-last-american-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/711306\/","title":{"rendered":"From \u2018USA94\u2019 to now: how soccer has changed since the last American World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States hosted its first World Cup<\/a> in 1994<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Soccer has changed dramatically in many ways since then \u2013 on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n

As the US (with Mexico and Canada) gets set to host the mega-event once again, more than anything, the tournament\u2019s defining change since 1994 is its sheer scale-up.<\/p>\n

The scale-up<\/p>\n

This scale-up can be clearly quantified. The 1994 tournament featured 52 matches across 32 days with 24 teams. By contrast, the 2026 event (the first three-nation World Cup) will involve 78 matches in the US alone, over 39 days. <\/p>\n

The competition\u2019s 48 teams are divided into 12 groups, with progression to the knockout stage awarded to the top two teams in each group along with the eight best third-placed teams.<\/p>\n

In terms of games, the tournament has doubled in size since 1994.<\/p>\n

The scale-up is not accidental. It has been driven by the twin forces of globalisation and commodification, alongside a deliberate strategy by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to both protect and extend football\u2019s commercial dominance<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Central to this has been expanding the tournament into non-traditional markets, most notably the US \u2013 the world\u2019s largest sports economy<\/a> \u2013 thereby generating substantial financial returns and commercial interest.<\/p>\n

Infantino and FIFA have faced sustained criticism in global media \u2013 ranging from controversial symbolic gestures involving Donald Trump<\/a> to concerns over ticket pricing<\/a>. But the broader outcome is clear: the World Cup has become more expansive and commercially powerful than ever. <\/p>\n

Read more:
\n Why Trump and FIFA are perfect bedfellows as the World Cup heads to the US<\/a><\/p>\n

At the same time, FIFA has deepened its claim to global reach by incorporating smaller nations such as Cape Verde and Cura\u00e7ao, whose combined populations are well under one million.<\/p>\n

The scale-up rests on two core dynamics. First, more matches mean more broadcast content, and media rights remain FIFA\u2019s largest revenue stream<\/a>. Expanding to 104 matches significantly increases the value of rights deals, particularly across participating nations.<\/p>\n

Second, expansion broadens FIFA\u2019s political base. By granting more countries access, it strengthens the influence of nations previously on the margins of global soccer.<\/p>\n

Within FIFA\u2019s voting structure, each member association carries equal weight: the vote of powerhouse Brazil counts the same as that of Cura\u00e7ao, a recent entrant with a population around 150,000.<\/p>\n

At the same time, a larger tournament increases the likelihood that major population centres and emerging consumer markets (such as China, India, and Southeast Asia) will participate, further expanding the World Cup\u2019s commercial reach.<\/p>\n

The unresolved question for FIFA is one of limits: how far can expansion go before it dilutes the exclusivity and premium value of the World Cup?<\/p>\n

The World Game in the US<\/p>\n

Soccer in the US has grown markedly since the 1994 event. In many ways, this growth reflects the original intent behind awarding the 1994 World Cup to the States. <\/p>\n

The 1994 tournament was still the best-attended in history<\/a>, largely due to the use of National Football League (NFL) venues. It was granted on the condition that a viable professional league be reestablished following the collapse of the North American Soccer League<\/a> in 1984.<\/p>\n

Major League Soccer (MLS), launched in 1996, is now firmly established within the US sporting landscape. <\/p>\n

The pathway has also strengthened, with college athletes feeding into MLS and increasingly major European leagues, alongside the expansion of secondary professional and semi-professional tiers. <\/p>\n

Growth has been especially strong in the women\u2019s game thanks to significant new investment. <\/p>\n

The US men\u2019s team, currently ranked 16th in the world, could plausibly make a deep run in 2026. <\/p>\n

As in 1994, matches this year will largely be staged in football stadiums to maximise capacity.<\/p>\n

Rule changes and technology<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s rule changes are largely designed to keep the ball in play and increase the tempo of matches<\/a>. Measures addressing time-wasting \u2013 from stricter control of throw-ins and goal kicks to tighter management of added time \u2013 reflect this objective.<\/p>\n

The 1994 World Cup introduced major reforms, including a ban on back-passes to goalkeepers<\/a> and awarding three points for a win to encourage attacking play.<\/p>\n

Looking to the 2026 event, technological oversight will expand, with Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology applied more broadly<\/a> to decisions such as second yellow cards and corner calls.<\/p>\n

Player welfare has also become more prominent: after the extreme heat issues of 1994<\/a>, mandated drinks breaks will be introduced<\/a> \u2013 one in each half around the 22-minute mark. <\/p>\n

Substitution rules have also evolved significantly, increasing from two in 1994 to five regular substitutions, along with an additional allowance for concussion replacements.<\/p>\n

Same game, different scale<\/p>\n

Since its codification and even in early filmed matches more than a century ago, soccer\u2019s simplicity has been the foundation of its global dominance. <\/p>\n

The sport\u2019s continuity bridges generations. The leading players of the 1994 World Cup, such as Italy\u2019s Roberto Baggio<\/a> and Brazil\u2019s Rom\u00e1rio<\/a>, could plausibly compete in the modern game, even if today\u2019s players are generally more physically developed. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, despite the scale, global reach and commercialisation of tournaments like the World Cup, soccer\u2019s enduring success lies in its consistency. <\/p>\n

The game played on the world\u2019s biggest stage remains fundamentally the same as that played in parks, schools and local grounds; simple, universal and instantly recognisable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United States hosted its first World Cup in 1994. Soccer has changed dramatically in many ways since…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-711306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}