The modern era of soccer was born in 1863, when a group of male players met in a London tavern to break away from rugby. They formed a sport where, unlike in rugby, field players could only use their feet and could not kick each other's shins with impunity. Although women latched onto soccer as players at two stages -- up to the 1920s and from the 1980s to the present -- in overall numbers, men dominate soccer.
FIFA Big Count
FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, counted soccer participants worldwide in 2006. A total of nearly 240 million men play soccer, an increase of 8 percent over 2000. Women make up an additional 26 million players, a figure that increased by 19 percent over the same six-year span. Men thus make up 90 percent of the players counted by FIFA in the world.
Geography
Germany leads with 5.4 million registered male players, followed by the U.S. with 2.5 million, Brazil with 2.1 million, France with 1.7 million and Italy and South Africa each with about 1.5 million. Of these male players, 110,000 are professionals, with Brazil at more than 16,000 having the most professionals, followed by England at around 6,000.
Amateur Level
Men can play on men-only recreational and competitive soccer in open and over-30 divisions as part of adult leagues and summer tournaments. They can also play on co-ed teams. The format of men's and co-ed leagues include 11-a-side outdoor soccer, six-a-side indoor soccer and five-a-side futsal leagues, typically played on a wooden floor indoors rather than synthetic turf. Local, regional and national tournaments also feature men's divisions for the smaller 3v3 and 4v4 formats.
Career Path
Men's soccer at the pro level outside the U.S. identifies boys ages 9 to 14 for attendance at youth academies, often residential ones, for training and assessment. The U.S. Soccer Federation is also following this path with residential academies and elite youth clubs that aim to groom future male professional players. To an extent, male professional players may play for a college team in the U.S. before turning pro, but this is not the case internationally. American female players who want to turn pro, by contrast, may in fact attend a college with a strong women's program, such as the University of North Carolina.
College Level
U.S. colleges field men's soccer teams in Divisions I, II and III. St. Louis' men's soccer team earned 10 NCAA Division I titles between the first, held in 1959, and its most recent title as of publication, in 1993. Indiana snagged seven titles, the most recent in 2004, and Virginia garnered six titles between 1989 and 2009.
Pro Leagues
Men's soccer at the pro level typically involves a first division for the best clubs, in countries such as England, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico. Two to four lower divisions organize clubs of lesser achievement, which can improve and move into the top division, sending weaker first-division teams to "relegation," or demotion to a lower level. Standouts on top club teams can be called up to serve on a men's national team for exhibitions, World Cup qualifiers and the World Cup itself.
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