Former Chicago Fire general manager Peter Wilt is confident soccer will continue to grow in the USA over the next decade.

The soccer executive wrote in his blog on Pitch Invasion that he feels the quality of the sport in the States sport will get better and better due to several reasons but mainly touching on the fact that the media is allowing soccer much more mainstream airplay.

Wilt's reasons for the continued growth of soccer in the USA included:

'Media and society are mainstreaming soccer at unparalleled rates. Soccer bashing media members have been replaced with soccer knowledgeable journalists. American television and the internet have provided unprecedented forums for soccer coverage and discussion.

'That mainstreaming will result in better athletes playing soccer and better coaches teaching soccer.

'The world is getting smaller. More Americans are watching international soccer on television, more Americans are playing overseas and more foreign born players are moving to the US at a young age. Each of these developments will result in better players representing the US and more Americans following soccer as fans.

'MLS will be twice as large as it was a decade prior. Having 20 teams instead of ten will double the number of Americans playing the sport at the first division level and will double the number of Americans (and Canadians) watching first division local teams.

'Fans are becoming more passionate. The growth of soccer spectatorship in the last decade is not measured only by the increased quantity of fans, but also by the increased intensity of their support. More fans are caring about the sport and their favorite teams (domestically and internationally) than ever before.'