ABSTRACT
This paper contends that the way in which the term ‘ethnic’ is applied to the history of soccer in America needs rethinking. Through a case study of the National Junior Challenge Cup (now know as the JP McGuire Cup), the country’s oldest ongoing competition across all youth sports, this paper examines the transformation of American soccer’s identity. The tournament began in 1935 and evolved from an initial constituency of ethnic, immigrant and Catholic youth clubs. Following societal demographic trends, the growing national participant base came from more suburban, middle-class neighbourhoods. The 1970s witnessed a paradigm change in youth soccer as the sport began to move closer to mainstream consciousness. The tournament is a window into the complexity of defining the term ‘ethnic’ and its individuals who straddled both ‘ethnic’ and ‘native’ worlds. This article explores the origins of soccer in America, the bridges between ethnic identity, immigration and the foreign-native cultural debate and Soccer Americana.
