Game feeds soccer’s growth in the US

ANN ARBOR-The popularity of soccer in the United States has grown exponentially in the past decade due to increased media exposure, demographic changes and the proliferation of social media. But it has been the popularity of EA Sports FIFA, a video soccer game that allows players to "become" their favorite star-regardless of how small or obscure the - team-that has had one of the greatest impacts on the way U.S. soccer consumption has changed, according to a new study published in Sport in Society by University of Michigan researchers. U-M professor and avid soccer fan Andrei Markovits and student Adam Green analyzed data from the video game and sports industries, including media clips, literature and's with EA FIFA gamers. They also referenced Markovits' previous research on team sports and culture. "The game's growth on the fields of the country's suburbs and among its middle class has been nothing short of sensational. We argue that among many decisive factors in soccer's massive consumptive proliferation has been the EA FIFA video games," said Markovits, the Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Politics and German Studies and author of "Gaming The World: How Sports Are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture" and "Sportista: Female Fandom in the United States." The researchers cite several factors that have contributed to soccer's popularity among American sports fans, starting in 1990 when the U.S. first started qualifying for the World Cup.