If you liked what you saw during Argentina’s thrilling win over France in the final of the 2022 World Cup, I have good news for you—there’s more where that came from.
OK, maybe not every game is going to be that awesome. But the point is, if the tournament has piqued your interest in the beautiful game, you don’t have to wait four years to enjoy it.
More Americans are playing the game here and abroad. On television or a screen-of-your-choice, it is now easier to watch than ever.
Whether you are new to it or not, here’s how you can keep up and deepen your relationship with the game.
The Women’s Game
Since the recent Men’s version moved from its usual summer slating to November this year—due to the Qatari heat—the 2023 Women’s World Cup will kick off in Australia and New Zealand just 212 days from the time of publication.
As opposed to their male counterparts, the U.S. Women’s National Team are world-beaters, ranked number 1 in the globe and are gunning for their third consecutive World Cup title after winning in 2015 and 2019.
The English-language broadcast will be carried on FOX and Spanish-language on Telemundo.
At home, the NWSL, the top-flight women’s league in the U.S., kicks off its 2023 schedule in March on Paramount + and CBS Sports Network. The Bay Area is still currently in the development stages of launching its own team.
Until then, the USL W-League, a pre-professional league, launched a brand new NorCal competition that will kick off in May. Matches can be streamed on ElevenSports.com.
Otherwise, go check out a local match at any of these teams: SF Glens and Olympic Club (San Francisco), Oakland Soul, California Storm (Sacramento), Stockton Cargo, Marin FC, Pleasanton Rage and Academica SC (Turlock).
In the college ranks, where the nation’s best players still emerge, Santa Clara University and Stanford are national powerhouses.
Professional Soccer in The Bay
The only northern California team in Major League Soccer (MLS) is in San Jose: The Earthquakes. You can check out their games at the newly built PayPal park, or tune into games across the league starting February on Apple TV and FOX.
The nation’s second division, the United Soccer League (USL), might be home to the coolest sports team in the Bay Area: Oakland Roots S.C.
The 2023 USL season kicks off in March and games across the league will be streamed on ESPN+. The Roots play home games at Laney College.
In San Francisco, the semi-professional club SF Glens recently broke ground on a new soccer stadium on Treasure Island. The Glens compete in USL League Two, which kicks off in May. Select games are streamed on KRON 4’s app KRONon.
San Francisco City FC, also in the USL League Two, plays its home games at Kezar Stadium.
Meanwhile, a newly formed amateur side called Inter SF just qualified for the U.S. Open Cup, the nation’s oldest single-elimination tournament featuring professional and amateur clubs, in March—similar to England’s FA Cup competition.
Americans Abroad
For the first time in team history, all eleven of the U.S. starters at the recent World Cup plied their trade for European club teams.
The English Premier League, which is where “Captain America” Christian Pulisic and actual U.S. captain Tyler Adams plays, resumes its season on what the Brits call “Boxing Day,” Dec. 26. Games are broadcast live on NBC’s affiliated networks and streamed on Peacock.
Golden boy and recently scandalized Giovanni Reyna plays for powerhouse Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga which streams all of its games on ESPN+. Breakout star Yunus Musah plays for Valencia in Spain’s La Liga which also streams all of its games on ESPN+.
Elsewhere, Weston McKennie (for now) plays for Juventus in Italy’s Serie A, which streams all of its games on CBS and Paramount +.