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anthem being played and seeing players wearing my country's colours.

So hopefully I've covered the main reasons why soccer is increasing in popularity amongst American kids. It obviously still has a long way to go in convincing those kids to stick with the sport into adulthood and to become professional soccer players.

If we look quickly at the rest of the world, in most countries soccer has been the dominant sport for decades. It retains its popularity despite the increased presence of other sports, such as American football. This is probably largely because it is such a high profile sport. It's always on TV and its players are celebs that people look up to and admire. Just look at David Beckham for how soccer players are much more than just athletes.

The biggest challenge that is facing youth soccer, in countries like the UK, is the growth in popularity of computer games and fears from parents about letting their kids go out to play in local parks. We've been seeing a reduction in active sports participation and a correlating growth in childhood obesity. Whatever your views about soccer (or any other sports), I think everyone would agree that it is important that kids get lots of exercise and it's always going to be much more fun to kick, hit, or throw a ball than to just run!

Learn more about this author, Simon Wright.
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