World Cup final inspires inspiration for the next generation of Minnesota soccer players
On the final day of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as Argentina faced France thousands of miles away, inside Maplewood’s John Glenn High School gym, the next generation of players here in Minnesota were paying close attention. .
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – On the final day of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as Argentina faced France thousands of miles away, inside Maplewood’s John Glenn High School gym, the next generation of players here in Minnesota were paying close attention. .
“It was intense and I was screaming,” U10 athlete Felix Hook told FOX 9.
“That was the best World Cup ever, it was unbelievable,” added Felix’s father, Nicholas.
For the many young athletes in attendance this weekend, watching the game helped them learn the proper way to play it. They immediately took what they saw on the screen and put it into action in the next room at a YMCA indoor soccer tournament.
Thirty youth teams from all over the Twin Cities got in on the action, leaving it all on the field. And to their parents watching from the sideline, no matter how complicated the game looked, their athletes were just as world-class.
Only a few were sorry to feel that the sport is not getting the recognition it deserves in this part of the world.
“Globally, it’s the most popular game in the history of planet Earth,” said Nicholas.
But in the United States, it has struggled to catch up with other sports.
“In our grade, not many people like soccer,” Felix said.
Because of that, the organizers of Sunday’s tournament felt that this year’s World Cup was even more important for the future of the game in the states.
The hope now is that Argentina’s victory will become a turning point for the excitement surrounding soccer in the United States; growing from what some consider a “side sport” to a main attraction for upcoming athletes.
“It is growing and having it on television has been fantastic”, concluded the organizer Felipe Aceituno.
