This is coming from a non-soccer aficionado perspective. Personally I'm not a soccer fan myself (by the way football and soccer mean the same thing, only used in different contexts). However judging from the widespread popularity of the game itself, I've always wondered what is it about soccer/football that makes the world love it so much to hold a global competition every 4 years, aka The World Cup.

I guess part of the reason why men and soccer/football mix is because it invokes very strong feelings of camaraderie and friendship among fellow compatriots. There is something inexplicable about men getting together on a weekend night crammed in front of the TV over beer and peanuts, screaming over tiny figures running across the screen that makes it so endearing among the male gender.

Yet I suppose there is also the element of money involved in this whole concoction of soccer/football and men. Where I come from people bet huge sums of money on soccer/football matches, and fights erupt because of that.

So what do you think? Why do men and soccer/football go so well together? Does it explain the increasing trend of women watching soccer/football matches?

One answer: Beer.
I enjoy football only if it is the world cup, and I won't even watch it unless someone offers to buy me a jug when I hang out with some people. I get tired after 30 minutes at most and switch off to watch a movie on HBO.

I only like to play it. I will not watch the world cup :P.

Foot ball, soccer and most other sports combine most male intrests. Beer, competion, vilence, chearleaders and Beer. the playoffs are even more populer since there is 2-3x as much Beer, competion, vilence, chearleaders and Beer. i love to sit on the couch with a beer and watch some milionair get his face nocked in.

Well imo soccer is a game for men, not women play. It envolves speedy, 'violence'.. and it seems much more interesting men playing it.. xD
I'm a girl, but i really get excited with soccer, and i watch it pretty often, just when my team is playing and it's an important game, or for example few games in the World Cup, speacially those that my country is in. Personally i like to watch it alone.. my parents don't stop complaining about the game, and what i hear from my brother is just insults. And if i'm with friends, i just talk and talk and i end up not paying attention to the game xD. So, just me there, eating something, peacefully, is the best thing ^^. And i don't scream -_-'
So for me there are two sides: Soccer mix so well with men just when it envolves who is playing it. On the other hand, soccer mix well with no matter who is watching.. woman, man.. kids. They just have to enjoy it. ^^ and again, personally, i don't like when men get together to watch soccer.. they get really weird and crazy..

Does it explain the increasing trend of women watching soccer/football matches?

Maybe... sometimes women just watch soccer beacause of their husbands and sons. I guess there is something to do with. But for example in my country.. we are all fascinated to soccer, so it's doesn't matter.. (we all.. i meant most xD)

Well one thing I can ensure you not all men love football, in fact some detest them and I disagree that football is just a men spot because it's not there are lots of girls I know who love football as much as men, but anyway I think that prove my point, the rest you guys have already mention

I don't think soccer mixes well with anything--90% of the clips in those sports disasters shows are footage of rabid soccer fans breaking out in a riot

LOATH watching it, LOATH the fanbase, LOVE playing the game.
That's about it, but yeah, I don't get it, it isn't amazing or anything, you just run around kicking a ball in an agilitised way and kick it at a goal net, barely anything technical beyond physical skill.

Same goes for any sport. . .

Hehe...as a Spanish, I wonder about this myself...my country is RULED by football...My grandparents live next to the Bernabeu, and it's so damn noisy there...but whenever there's an important match, it's a lot of fun to watch and, when Real Madrid scores, you can go out and hear an echo of the "Goooollllllll" that people yell excited.

I love soccer both to watch and to play. It's fairly neat and fast-paced - more oriented to skill than the sort of brawn-based brawl some other sports are but not entirely so - and requires both co-ordination and teamwork to do well, fun fun fun...

I think playing football is fun ^^ altough i'm not good at it. but watching it on tv bores me mostly (just the World Cup is exciting) what i don't understand is that why soccer is more popular then the other sports??

Hard to say... Personally, I don't really like soccer/football so much. Except international matches, these are worth watching. But some leagues, that's not for me... That means I'll be watching the World Cup, but I won't visit the stadium... That's not for me, football fans are just too agressive and drunk... >_> (that's negative side of football)

landlala

There is something inexplicable about men getting together on a weekend night crammed in front of the TV over beer and peanuts, screaming over tiny figures running across the screen that makes it so endearing among the male gender.

You must be talking about AMERICAN football lol, now that is boring, those games can last forever, honestly theres like more inbetween stuff than actual play. But back on topic I myself find football (soccer) exciting, the atmosphere and the long wait of 4 years and the anticipation. I love to play it in real life, or on a video game or just watch it on TV. And out of over 200 countries only 32 qualify and play a month long of football.

Seems like a lot of people in North America aren't big fans of football, other than Mexico. Thats pretty reasonable I guess, we excel in Hockey, American/Canadian Football, Basketball and Baseball but Soccer is like the weakest sport here lol. I wouldn't dare watch a game with Canada or US playing, suck so much.

Well I'm cheering on South Korea/Korea Republic or whatever they are referred to nowadays. This was before they became recognized was the 4th place finishers in their host country :)

To each one his own, regarding likes/dislikes of certain sports. But important reasons for why a certain sport is popular in a country are wealth, location, and ethnicity. It doesn't cost a lot to play soccer (futbol). Buy a ball, get some friends, any open ground is game. Same kind of goes for basketball, but you would need to find something for the basket. Golf for example, will never really be a national sport because of all the equiptment and junk involved.

Then there's hockey, where you would probably not find being played in blazing hot Central Africa...and to play ice hockey, you'll need more then just a puck (stick, skates, pads, helmet, ICE RING...).

Then there's American football. Good ol' shotgun formations and defense showing blitz. American's are big. I mean...BIG. 6'10", 350lbs? Easy. NO Asian country will be able to complete with with the US in some American Football World Championship, or what-have-you. I don't even want to think about what's going to happen to my fellow Chinese countrymen's linebackers, recievers, and QB going up against 10 Warren Sapps...that's just not right...

I also think the popularity of a sport might having something do with the country's standing in the world as well. For us in the US, being #1 kicks major ass. So it's no surprise that American football (duh), baseball, and basketball are pretty much our Big 3. Yeah yeah, I know we messed up big time with basketball in the Olympics (it's your fault Stephen Marbury), and we didn't win in baseball recently either. But the fact that so many international players still come here to play, still gives Amercans the feeling that we're still best hoops and bat&glove country in the world. Soccer, our most non-interested sport, can't be that different then hockey (pretty darn popular in the US, Stanley Cup and all), but no one really gives a damn here about pro-soccer. Maybe if we won a World Cup or two (or three or four...), then interest might rise.

But then again, the US weren't the ones who popularized futbol in the world scene (like we did with fOOtball, bball, baseball). So winning World Cups in futbol might not even made a difference.