In the past several years, the rapid expansion of soccer to all parts of the world has been fueled in large part by the growth and spread of cable and satellite television. Today, one can turn on the television in Nigeria, South Korea, Afghanistan, Paraguay, or just about anywhere else, and (assuming they have a satellite dish or cable) will be able to watch matches from the highest levels of soccer--the English Premier League, Spain's La Liga, and Italy's Serie A, as well as others. The British Broadcasting Company estimatesthat the English Premier League alone is available in over 600 million homes in 202 countries worldwide (1) . Each week, more than 1.2 billion people reportedly watch an English Premier League game, though this number is undoubtedly an underestimate, as it does not account for pirated set-top boxes and unauthorized online streams of matches. More so than any other sport, soccer has the ability to project itself into living rooms around the globe.

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 The same holds true for soccer's most prestigious event, the World Cup. During the 2006 World Cup held in Germany, FIFA estimated that the final match between Italy and France was broadcast over 376 channels worldwide, in 214 countries and territories. Total viewership for the game was estimated at 715.1 million, making it one of the most-watched television events in history (2) . In addition to television, the advent of the Internet has made it possible to follow virtually any team or club from anywhere in the world, as video highlights and match reports are regularly made available online. The spread of mobile phones has further accelerated this trend, as people are increasingly looking to their Internet-equipped cell phones for updates on their favorite teams.

The Manchester United team plane

In addition to building a global following through television broadcasts, some major European clubs have taken to traveling to other parts of the world during their preseasons and engaging in exhibition matches against prominent local squads. For example, in the past five years Manchester United, one of England's biggest and most successful clubs, has visited Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Nigeria, and South Africa. By facing off against host teams from those countries, clubs like Manchester United both encourage the local growth of soccer as well as promote their own brands. The results are tangible. According to their website, Manchester United now has more than 200 officially recognized supporters' clubs in more than 24 countries (3) . This has led many to call Man U the biggest club in the world.

Additional Links of Interest

Schedule of Soccer Matches on TV
Soccer Highlights
Free Streaming of Live Soccer Matches




(1) http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/marketing/factsfigures/tvdata.html
(2) Bevan, Chris and Stevenson, Jonathan. "Premier League Going Global." BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7232378.stm. 7 February 2008. 
(3) http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={18397BE1-3BC3-49EC-9718-9598D6704319}

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