Wholesale sales of soccer equipment in the U.S. 2007-2018

In 2018, wholesale sales of soccer balls amounted to about 127.9 million U.S. dollars. Wholesale sales of soccer balls peaked in 2016, at 130.5 million U.S. dollars. Wholesale sales of protective soccer gear were approximately 32.5 million dollars in 2018.

Soccer

Soccer (more commonly known globally as football) is a team sport played with ball between two teams of eleven players. The object of the game is to score by moving the ball beyond the goal line of the opposing team. Soccer is recreationally played by millions of players in several countries and is considered the most popular sport in the world. In the United States, around 11.92 million people participated in outdoor soccer in 2017, with a further 5.4 million people taking part in indoor soccer that year. In the United States alone, more than 26 million people viewed the 2014 FIFA World Cup final. Major League Soccer is an increasingly popular sports league in the United States, consisting of clubs such as LA Galaxy who continue to attract international sports stars.

Soccer equipment

Soccer equipment ranges from balls and protective gear, to goal nets and apparel. Nike and Adidas are two of the top European soccer club kit manufacturers. The two brands are sponsors of the two of the biggest soccer stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, respectively.