So, overall, what did we learn from our trip?

If we’re honest, not much that we didn’t already know in principle, but let’s recap some things that feel important to us:

Soccer in America is, for all of its idiosyncrasies in its professional league, an unparalleled melting pot of backgrounds, fandoms, cultures, subcultures, and side-hustles that all contribute to a wonderfully diverse and dynamic soccer soup. The sport has a long way to go, but it’s also a lot bigger than MLS, than the US Men’s and Women’s National Teams, than any one club or country can possibly envelop. And that’s unique and worth cherishing.
With that in mind, any portrayal of the "American soccer marketplace" that does not engage with elements beyond the stadium or the television is not a complete picture. While attendances and television ratings offer a large data set (that is often ignored by those marketing football int he country), it's only a portion of the participatory metrics that are important to harness. In cities like LA, Houston, and Kansas City, some of the most influential and well-supported pillars of the football community can be found in pickup games, adult leagues, or restaurants like the Calcio Cafe. That's why we spent a lot of time on this tour trying to meet with them.
Most of all, we know how extraordinarily lucky we are to do this. We feel extremely privileged to have the opportunity to engage with a network of supportive, creative, good-natured lovers of the beautiful game and share their stories. When we started this site, we had one way of describing ourselves that has never changed: “The World’s Game, by the World.”

This is your site as much as ours and it means the absolute world to us to see people consuming our content, throwing us recommendations on the road, welcoming us into your lives, and telling us the things you like (and the things you don’t like). At the end of the day, this is a passion project for us and it’s humbling to know it means even a little bit to anyone else. We’re so grateful.

There’s no massive takeaway here. We went on a trip, had a lot of fun, and learned more about the American soccerscape. We just put one more piece in the jigsaw. But, to us, that’s enough. That’s what Where Is Football is about. Piece by piece, we create the jigsaw together. Pin by pin, we make the map.

And, together, we move the camera back to see what it reveals.

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A huge thanks to Audi for giving us the chance to do this.

We know we don't do a lot of sponsored content, but when we do, we really try to do it with partners that can help us contribute to our mission of showcasing the world’s game, by the world.

This felt like a cool way to reach new parts of the USA and deliver an on-the-ground look at different cities and what’s going on there around the game, as European clubs rolled into town. We hope you enjoyed our journey and saw something you wouldn't previously have.

If you're ever interested in telling a story, or interested in chatting about what we’re getting up to, please do drop us a message on twitter: @whereisfootball, @thatdamnyank or @nathenmcvittie.

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November 19th, 2019

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