A few more World Cup charts...

It's always a great surprise when I meet someone I can talk soccer with here in America - whether the conversation involves my love for Arsenal, interest in Financial Fair Play, or development programs in the States - it doesn't matter. Regardless of the topic, it beats being called a socialist for loving the beautiful game (Jerry, take note). With the opening day of the World Cup tomorrow (arguably the most important day of every four year period), I thought it might be fun to look at a few more charts to see how soccer and the world unite.

First, let's consider the world's "disinterest" in soccer. This came from a recent New York Times article publishing a study conducted by YouGov. There are a lot of interesting facts in the article, but let's just look at something simple. Like yesterday's CMPB post on GDP, the USA finds itself on top of the charts in another competition with the remaining 31 World Cup challengers - being disinterested in soccer.

See here:

How can this be? Is there too much diversity in sports in America (lacrosse, hockey, wrestling, baseball, football, basketball, rugby, etc etc) for the sport to thrive elsewhere? Does being a wealthier nation mean kids have more money to play more sports that require lots of equipment? Or, is our nation's disinterest more a product of lack of exposure to soccer? Regardless, it's something to think about.

While you are pondering those last few questions, consider one more. Do you want fish to die? Do you like having a plethora of flourishing gill-bearing craniates amongst our lands and seas? Well then, maybe you should start getting involved with soccer, and stay interested! Keep telling your friends the same - until we reach a happy medium of about 27% of our population still being uninterested in the beautiful game. Let the rest of them keep their shoulder pads and mouth-guards. Do it for the fish.

Data taken from the World Bank