California Is A Great State For Soccer Fans: Which Towns Love To Watch The Beautiful Game

CALIFORNIA —California holds the number one city for soccer fans, according to a new report from WalletHub, a personal finance website. Los Angeles is ranked the best city for soccer fans, the report states.

WalletHub's panel of experts compared 300 U.S. cities, each with at least one college or professional soccer team across five divisions. A total of 52 metrics were used to find the best cities across the nation for soccer-loving fans.

California is perfectly situated for year-round outdoor soccer at every level of play. In Los Angeles, there are plenty of games to watch. Also, across the state, parents take young players to visit the pitch every weekend with dreams of future careers, playing for a major university or for a national team.

According to the University of Florida Ph.D. Kiki Kaplanidou, it is those dreams of the future that keep the stadiums full.

"Kids have dreams and if they want to pursue these leagues, I would support their dream but as a parent, " she said. "I know the probability of that happening is very low given the number of youth sports clubs and talent that exist in the country."

There is always a soccer game worth watching across Los Angeles, leading to its number one ranking in the nation for soccer fans in a large city.

Los Angeles ranked best with their major league soccer team ranking at number 1 and ranking at 13th for their National Women's Soccer League teams. Los Angeles ranked 27th in United Soccer League teams, 9th in college men's soccer teams, and 111th in college women's soccer teams. Though Los Angeles did not rank in the top five for most engaged MLS or NWSL fans, or highest performing in either regard, the all-around scores for a large city were at the top of the charts.

In California, the best large cities to watch soccer are:

• Los Angeles #1
• San Diego #22
• Sacramento #24
• Riverside #38
• Stockton #44
• Oakland #47
• San Francisco #50
• Bakersfield #51
• Long Beach #54
• Fresno #56

The best-midsized city to enjoy soccer is Salt Lake City, Utah. In California, the best-midsized towns include:

• Irvine #7
• Santa Clara #23
• Fullerton #29
• Berkeley #31

The best small city to watch soccer is Edinburg, Texas, according to the Wallethub report. In California, the best small towns to catch a soccer game are:

• Stanford #8
• San Luis Obispo #50
• Santa Barbara #57
• Moraga #59
• Davis #93
• Malibu #106

The data set for the rankings evaluated minimum season-ticket prices for a game, to stadium capacities, to the number of championships played in each town.

Among the reasons for the survey was the recent U.S. Women's National Team's bronze-medal showing at the Tokyo summer Olympics.

The full report from WalletHub is available at www.wallethub.com.