How the English Premier League conquered Washington, DC's elite

He said there were numerous Premier League fans in the White House who would crowd around phone screens during official trips to catch snatches of games. There’s even an open channel for Arsenal fans on the business software tool Slack, where D.C. staffers, reporters and business reps chat about league tables. 

In the D.C. bubble, soccer can be a good opener to grab the attention of networking targets. “Belated congrats on West Ham’s success!” read one cold pitch from a research firm to a reporter who lists their Premier League team on their social media profile. 

It’s little surprise interest in soccer has soared over the past decade in D.C., since many fans argue it appeals to internationalists and professionals — a group making up a huge proportion of the population in the seat of government. It’s a somewhat different fanbase from the sport’s working class roots in Britain. 

Andrew Snigur, a tax auditor watching the Liverpool game at Exiles Bar, said American football — also known as “gridiron” — is the more working class sport in the U.S., while soccer attracts an office-based audience interested in European culture.

“Soccer is a more quote-unquote finessed sport than American football,” he added. “American football is a more aggressive sport. I think that’s a huge part of why soccer is maybe a more white-collar thing.”

The internationalist aspect is more important than class, said Finn, quoted at the top of this article. “It’s a sport for people who have exposure to the world outside of America,” she argued, noting that could also include immigrants and their offspring, regardless of wealth.