Women & Sport: The women's game is the crown jewel of American soccer. That matters.

It goes without saying — soccer is the world’s most beloved sport.

And this week, the sport was top of mind across the United States, where the sport’s popularity seems to finally be growing sustainably. That's good news for players of all ages, especially young athletes.

The United States is unique, where the women’s game is the crown jewel of American soccer. The team is considered the best in the world, with four World Cup titles. That’s more than any other country, with Germany standing as the only other nation to have multiple titles under its belt with two championships.

Women’s soccer was thrust into the American mainstream in 1999 thanks to that year’s national team. They’re affectionately remembered by history as simply the '99ers.

The ‘99ers won that year’s World Cup title — their second, after winning the grand prize during the women’s inaugural tournament in China in 1991. What made it extra special? They lifted the trophy at home before a sold-out crowd after a penalty shootout at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The image of Brandi Chastain celebrating on her knees with her jersey in hand after scoring the game-winning goal that summer became one of the most iconic sports photos of all time. For weeks leading up to that moment, the nation was enamored by this championship team — and soccer exploded, especially for girls who grew up playing the game in the ‘90s (like me).

Nearly 23 years later, professional soccer in the United States is the most stable it’s ever been. The National Women’s Soccer League is currently in its tenth season, and players in January secured their first-ever collective bargaining agreement.

As Gotham FC’s general manager Yael Averbuch West told me in April: “For the first time, we’re able to actually look and say, ‘OK, this is what the league is going to look like in three, four, five years — because we literally have it written out in a contract, whereas we could never do that before. It gives a lot of stability but allows us to think of the future and feel really hopeful and excited about where things are going.”

That matters. Because when you have a game flourishing at the highest level, you provide young players with a visualization of what a future in that sport looks like. There's still plenty to be done to grow a game beyond that, but it's a start.

In North Jersey and New York, Gotham FC is slowly growing the game by investing in an official reserves team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League and ramping up youth clinics. Kearny, known as Soccertown USA, is now home to the recently formed pro-am women’s team, Paisley Athletic.

Across all levels of the game, from youth to pros and in between, the game is growing.

There was plenty of soccer news to lean into this week. The women’s national team released its summer roster for international friendlies and the CONCACAF W Championship. On the men's side, the national team is readying for the Men’s World Cup later this year in Qatar, just as Major League Soccer and Apple announced a historic global media partnership set to kick off in 2023.

On Thursday, the world tuned in to see which cities in the United States, Mexico or Canada would host the 2026 Men’s World Cup — and we now know MetLife Stadium will be the stage for some of the tournament's games.

That matters – because, as we saw with the ‘99ers, when the World Cup comes to town, it has the potential to shift the trajectory of soccer's growth. And while 2026 is still four years away, the world has plenty of international soccer to tune into in the meantime. This fall, the men’s World Cup will be played in Qatar, and next summer the USWNT will be vying for a fifth title in Australia and New Zealand.

The world be watching — along with the next generation of players.

Melanie Anzidei is a reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: anzidei@northjersey.com

Twitter: @melanieanzidei 

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: US women's soccer went mainstream thanks to the '99ers