How Hudson County, NJ, Helped Make Soccer an American Game Loved by Millions
Long known as “Soccertown, USA,” Kearny, New Jersey, finds itself back in the global spotlight for 2026. With the World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the town’s deep-rooted soccer heritage has never felt more relevant.
While Kearny serves as the historical heart of the sport in the region, Jersey City has emerged as a premier host and hub for major international soccer events, including the 2026 World Cup Final just down the road at MetLife Stadium.
Origins of Soccertown USA
Populated in the late 19th century by thousands of immigrant workers, Kearny rose to prominence for its textile industry, notably the Clark Thread Co. Founded and staffed by Scots, the area developed a cultural identity that remains vibrant to this day. As with most immigrant groups, the Kearny’s Scots brought with them their customs, their cuisine, their pub preferences and, perhaps most importantly, their favorite sport: football.
Not to be confused with American football, these Scots played a rough-and-tumble British game that was virtually unknown in this country at the time. “The English claim is that they gave the game of soccer to the rest of the world, but if you look at history, yes, the English were there, but the Scots are very much at the forefront. Their DNA is all over the spread of the game,” says Tom McCabe, professor at the University of Notre Dame’s London program, producer/writer for Soccertown Media and co-host of the podcast An American Game.
From casual pickup games, the sport in Kearny, Harrison, East Newark and beyond inevitably expanded, as factory teams, ethnic teams and town teams grew in number and competitiveness.
Soon, local soccer groups were competing in other states and even other countries.
“In the late 1800s, there were teams called Kearny Rovers, Kearny Rangers, Caledonian and Thistle,” notes Bryan Kay in Nutmeg, a Scottish football quarterly. “The first-ever U.S.-international match was played in the town in 1885.”
Local teams continued to win titles and enthusiastic supporters through the early years of the 20th century.
“There was so much civic pride involved in the sport, a kind of British view toward local teams,” McCabe says. “If your team is winning, then you are winning.”
Local Legends
As adult soccer flourished, Kearny also became a powerhouse for youth soccer and a leader in its development in the U.S.
While fierce schoolyard soccer served as a ubiquitous training ground, organized teams and school teams honed the very best, who rose to college, national and then international fame. Three teammates from Kearny High School became soccer legends when they starred on the U.S. Men’s National Team.
John Harkes, Tab Ramos and Tony Meola dazzled fans when they led the team to the 1990 and 1994 World Cup, putting the U.S. firmly in the ranks of international soccer and boosting the game’s popularity in a major way.
The World Stage
Since those golden days, soccer has remained an important part of Hudson County, even as the area has grown and changed. The Scottish stores, and fish and chips shops along Kearny’s main street are largely memories now, but soccer emphatically is not.
“Soccer has such deep roots in Hudson County. It’s still very much the county game,” McCabe says. “Immigration constantly renews soccer. So instead of Scottish and Irish kids, they’re from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Many different versions of American soccer are being played. It’s a rich and varied game now.”
Today, the region’s professional footprint is larger than ever. It serves as the home turf for the New York Red Bulls of MLS, which plays at the state-of-the-art Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, and NJ/NY Gotham FC of the NWSL, the 2023 champions that brought elite women’s professional soccer to the area’s doorstep.
More than 1.2 million people were expected to visit the New York/ New Jersey area for the 2026 Cup, beginning with group stage battles between Brazil, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Morocco, Norway, Panama and Senegal. And nowhere could there be a more authentic place to watch the world play The Beautiful Game than right here, where American soccer began.
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