Children playing youth soccer in Los Angeles outnumber those playing Little League Baseball by more than 2-to-1, and they outnumber those playing youth football by more than 5-to-1. That's just one of
the reasons why
Chris Harris reports that Los Angeles could be the USA's top soccer city. The Cal South Soccer Association now oversees more than 230 adult
amateur leagues with over 2,000 teams and 160,000 active players. One factor in the sport's popularity: Los Angeles is a county with a population of 10 million-plus that is about 45 percent Hispanic
and overwhelmingly of Mexican descent. The Los Angeles Galaxy has invested upwards of almost $1.75 million in its youth academy. And the Galaxy has some 141,000 registered young male soccer
players eligible to play in its youth system of which it has drawn the 135 best young players for the program, according to the team’s records.
Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »
