FIFA gave the 1994 World Cup to America on condition it start a pro league
In 1988 the United States had no professional soccer league at all, yet FIFA handed it the World Cup anyway, on Independence Day, with one string attached: build a league. The tournament that followed drew record crowds, earned more than any before it and ended in the first final settled by penalties.
Three countries bid: the United States, Brazil and Morocco. Inspectors judged Brazil's stadiums inadequate, and Morocco needed nine new grounds, whereas every American venue already stood. The vote in Zurich on July 4, 1988, took a single round, with the Americans getting just over half the votes. Skeptics noted that the North American Soccer League had folded in 1984, but the 1.4 million spectators at the soccer events of the Los Angeles Olympics suggested an audience existed. Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 and kicked off in 1996.
Organisers spent around $500 million, a fraction of what other hosts spend, by borrowing American football stadiums in nine cities, each holding at least 53,000. The Pontiac Silverdome became the first indoor World Cup venue. FIFA even floated bigger goals and quarter-time breaks to please television advertisers, ideas that were rejected. Total attendance reached 3,587,538, an average of 68,991 a game, records that lasted until 2026.
Changes aimed at livelier play worked. It was the first World Cup with three points for a win and the back-pass rule, and scoring rose to 2.71 goals a match from 2.21 four years earlier. Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia debuted, Russia played under its own name for the first time, and a reunified Germany entered for the first time since 1938, only to lose to Bulgaria in the quarter-finals. England, France and all four British home nations missed out.
The final, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, ended 0–0 after extra time. Brazil beat Italy 3–2 on penalties to become the first four-time champions. Even the draw had star power: held in Las Vegas on December 19, 1993, it featured Robin Williams, Evander Holyfield and Faye Dunaway.
Source: 1994 FIFA World Cup
