While the United States has professional soccer teams, the sport does not enjoy the wide-spread popularity of professional leagues in Europe or other American professional sports such as basketball, baseball, football or hockey. However, successes by the American national teams have given the sport a boost in popularity.
Men's National Team
The U.S. Men's National Team, often abbreviated USMNT, is a part of CONCACAF, or the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. The team plays qualifiers and tournament matches for both the World Cup and the Summer Olympics, as well as exhibition "friendlies" against the national teams from other countries around the world. They also play in worldwide tournaments such as the Confederations Cup and the Gold Cup. As of December 2010, the team is coached by Bob Bradly and draws its competition roster out of a pool of 70 players.
Women's National Team
The U.S. Women's National Team operates in much the same way the men's team does, qualifying for the World Cup and Summer Olympics through qualifying CONCACAF games, as well as playing international friendlies. The USWNT is one of the best teams in the world, winning World Cups in 1991 and 1999, and earning Olympic gold in 1996, 2004 and 2008. As of December 2010, the team is coached by Pia Sundhage.
MLS
Major League Soccer is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that was founded in 1996. The MLS has 15 teams in cities across the United States, plus a team in Toronto, with plans to expand to 18 teams by 2012. Ten teams originally made up the MLS in 1996, expanding to 12 teams in 2001, 13 teams in 2006 and 16 teams in 2008. The teams compete for a league championship, dubbed the MLS Cup. The commissioner of Major League Soccer as of December 2010 is Don Garber.
WPS
Women's Professional Soccer is a seven-team league formed in 2007, with play beginning in the fall of 2009. WPS succeeds the Women's United Soccer Association, which folded in 2003. Several franchises have folded due to lack of revenue, but other franchises tend to open in a different city soon after another franchise folds. As of December 2010, there are franchises in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and western New York, with Anne-Marie Eileraas as the CEO of WPS.
Youth National Teams
There are also youth teams at five different age levels for both men and women: Under-23, or U-23, U-20, U-18, U-17 and U-15. These teams act as a developmental feeder system for the men's and women's national teams. The teams compete in CONCACAF tournaments and international friendlies.
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