How the English Premier League Captured Washington, D.C.’s Elite – POLITICO

He said there were scores of Premier League fans at the White House crowding around phone screens during official trips to catch snippets of games. There’s even an open channel for Arsenal fans on the business software tool Slack, where DC staffers, reporters and company representatives talk about rankings.

In the DC bubble, football can be a good opening to get the attention of network targets. “Belated congratulations on West Ham’s success!” read a cold tone from a research agency to a reporter who mentions their Premier League team on their social media profile.

It’s no surprise that interest in soccer has skyrocketed in DC over the past decade, as many fans argue that it appeals to internationalists and professionals — a group that makes up a large portion of the population in the seat of government. It’s a slightly different fanbase to the sport’s working-class roots in Britain.

Andrew Snigur, a tax auditor watching the Liverpool match at the Exiles Bar, said American football – also known as ‘gridiron’ – is the sport of the working class in the US, while football attracts an office crowd interested in European culture .

“Soccer is a more sophisticated sport than American football,” he added. “American football is a more aggressive sport. I think this goes a long way to explaining why football is perhaps more of a white-collar affair.”

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