\u201cWe have talked to anyone we could learn from. We did research, we took data, we had thousands of conversations with people within the U.S. and outside the U.S. to understand our environments, opportunities or challenges, and to ultimately put forward a real plan that we think can be successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not the one you slap on a bumper sticker. We\u2019re committed to doing the long, hard work here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The research undertaken by U.S. Soccer included consultations with soccer experts around the world. Batson says the legendary former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger<\/a>, now in a role as FIFA\u2019s chief of global development, \u201cdeserves a lot of credit\u201d for the generosity of time and insights provided by him and his team in outlining ideas and practices. The U.S. Soccer sporting director, Matt Crocker<\/a>, has also brought insights from his extensive time with the English Football Association and Premier League.<\/p>\n The federation has also enlisted the support of the Twenty First Group, a sports intelligence consultancy. They are working to benchmark how many players out of the top 1,000 in the world would, on average, be required in a squad at a World Cup for a team to go to the quarter-finals or beyond in the competition, providing the federation with one method of benchmarking its future talent development.<\/p>\n \n Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has provided his insight. (Roberto Schmidt \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Batson said the objective is to get U.S. teams, at all levels, into a position to win major tournaments. \u201cOn the women\u2019s side, we have proven we are there<\/a>,\u201d he added. \u201cBut the rest of the world is not sitting around hanging, so we have to keep pressing. On the men\u2019s side, we have ambitions of proving we are there too.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the previous challenges has soccer stakeholders disagreeing about the issues and solutions for the game. Batson says the consensus has moved closer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe agree we need to work together,\u201d he said. \u201cWe agree we need to make soccer more accessible. We agree we need easy, simple-to-understand pathways for kids to decide what journey they should go on. We agree that we need to get some of the funding and resourcing models right. There\u2019s a belief that there needs to be a whole lot more opportunities for kids to play soccer close to home, and local models and regional models that provide an opportunity for kids to play much longer, much easier and much cheaper than what exists today.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s buy-in around the U.S. way: a sporting strategy around player-centric development and best practices. Clubs can have different playing styles, but it is about having a core philosophy around how we make sure that every kid is put in a position to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n Batson warned that the size and geography of the U.S. mean there is no \u201ccopy and paste\u201d solution from other countries. The federation has taken learnings from outside of the soccer and sports world to understand how to bring greater agreement and uniformity.<\/p>\n The federation has studied the smoking cessation efforts within the United States, which drastically reduced the number of smokers in the country, as well as public information campaigns that persuaded many people of the risks of driving under the influence of alcohol.<\/p>\n That level of buy-in will be required to smooth access and participation, particularly costs, for children to play soccer in the country. Many current and former U.S. national team players have bemoaned the financial risks taken by their families in pursuit of their soccer dreams<\/a>.<\/p>\n Batson said, \u201cThis is going to be a long-term journey. But for a country as wealthy as we are, with the resources that we have, beyond monetary, these are solvable things. With people in the room, working together, it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n \u201cOur task is to use the big moments of \u201926, \u201928 (Olympic Games in Los Angeles) and \u201931 (bid to host the Women\u2019s World Cup<\/a>) to get governments to invest in fields, to get schools to put soccer in, because it\u2019s not just one thing, it\u2019s all of the things. You\u2019ve got this incredible base of strength and support.<\/p>\n \u201cThe commercial market of soccer in this country is growing. MLS owners now spend nine figures a year on free-to-play youth soccer opportunities as part of their player development efforts. Ten years ago, that was essentially nothing. That alone is massive. Part of what we will be calling out is how soccer is a more affordable way to impact way more kids than, say, baseball or football, where equipment is way more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, 31.9 million Americans over the age of six participated in basketball versus 17.3 million in baseball, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). In football, across flag, tackle, touch and 7-on-7, the combined participation was 18.8 million. Soccer\u2019s participation across indoor and outdoor in 2024 was 20.5 million, which is a rise of more than three million since 2019.<\/p>\n The plan has major backing. MLS Commissioner Don Garber has said the Pathway Strategy \u201crepresents an important step toward a more unified development system in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n Emma Hayes, head coach of USWNT, told The Athletic: \u201cWe want to be the most inclusive sport in the U.S. and give players opportunities to have the most fun and enjoy maximum growth, as people and players, regardless of their background or where they live.\u201d<\/p>\n Her men\u2019s team counterpart, Mauricio Pochettino, added that he is \u201cso happy to see that U.S. Soccer is taking the right steps forward in this process.\u201d<\/p>\n Plenty will ask where the money will come from to bring the strategy to fruition. Batson said, \u201cPart of this is realizing the soccer market in the U.S. is actually really big. There are already billions of dollars being spent. Taking the existing market and resourcing it more effectively frees up a lot of resources.<\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, there are big untapped dollars from school districts and local governments that today still are spending way more on football than they should be based on participation numbers. There are continued opportunities as Major League Soccer, USL<\/a> and NWSL grow for this to flow back into youth development.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at the revenue growth of U.S. soccer over the last few years \u2014 we\u2019ve more than doubled in that time period \u2014 and have opportunities to continue to grow. There\u2019s a lot of money that, if organized, we\u2019ll be able to unlock a lot of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Ticketed fans to get expedited visa appointments<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2219467392-scaled.jpg\")
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