On Feb. 3, 2026, the Olympic and Paralympic Games announced St. Louis as one of seven cities to host matches for the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments. Games will be played at Energizer Park, home to MLS team St. Louis CITY SC. Hosting Olympic matches comes as just another contribution to St. Louis’ storied history with the sport.
The first ever gold, silver and bronze medals in Olympic soccer were awarded at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Olympics. Known more famously for its disastrous marathon, the 1904 St. Louis Games also saw teams representing the United States take silver and bronze in the tournament, with both teams being amateur clubs from St. Louis.
The St. Louis Soccer League, founded in 1907, was one of the nation’s first professional soccer leagues. From 1920 to 1939, 15 teams from the SLSL appeared in the National Challenge Cup Final, a tournament known today as the U.S. Open Cup. 10 championship teams all-time have come from St. Louis.
At the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the United States defeated England in a now famous game known as the “Miracle on Grass.” Five of the eleven players on the roster were from St. Louis, specifically The Hill neighborhood, including keeper Frank Borghi, who kept a clean sheet against England. Only one American journalist made the journey to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to cover the match,Dent McSkimming of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. England has yet to win a World Cup match against the United States since.
1959 saw the Saint Louis University Billikens, in their second season as an official competing team, take home their first NCAA Soccer Championship. From 1959 to 1974, SLU had 14 College Cup appearances, with an all-time record of 10 championship wins. Since 1974, the Billikens have appeared in the national semi-finals three more times in 1991, 1997 and more recently in 2025. SLU’s 17 College Cup appearances ranks second in the nation to the Indiana Hoosiers with 22.
Bryden Fuemmeler, a sophomore neuroscience major and former St. Louis club soccer player, said that he felt that hosting Olympic soccer is a long deserved honor for the city.
“It is genuinely exciting to see the city step onto the global stage in this way. Soccer has deep roots here, long before MLS expansion … and hosting Olympic matches in 2028 feels like recognition of that history as much as an investment in the future,” Fuemmeler said. “For longtime supporters, it feels like a full circle moment, proof that the city’s decades-long love for the game is finally being seen and celebrated at the highest level.”
Izzy Luebbert, a senior defender for the Billikens women’s soccer team, said that St. Louis’s soccer legacy is still influential to the program and its players.
“It’s a huge part of SLU Soccer. We hold each other to the highest standard,” Leubbert said. “It’s definitely so cool to play [in St. Louis], having the men win so many national championships, along with the women … We had a seven-year streak of winning the conference tournament.”
Leubbert continued, speaking about one of her best memories as part of St. Louis soccer.
“You have the ability to play and represent SLU and the city. It’s such a cool opportunity. With St. Louis City coming up we were able to play in their stadium for one game and it was the coolest experience ever and it showed just how much St. Louis cares about soccer.”
With over a hundred years of soccer history, hosting Olympic matches is another contribution to the storied legacy St. Louis holds with the world’s favorite sport.
