Interesting. But if one is going to point out that the United States and Japan are rich, one might as well also point out that both have very large populations - larger than most of the major European powers, in fact - and are nations in which soccer is just starting to gain popularity. Also note: "9 of the 10 largest economies" is ambiguous with regard to actual wealth, because all of the largest economies have large populations as well. With China also qualifying for its first World Cup in 2002, the same data can be used to show that soccer is becoming globalized to the point that power is shifting toward more populous countries.