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00:00Welcome. Thank you both for doing this. Thank you all for being here. We're here to talk about U.S.
00:05soccer. We're here to talk about the World Cup. We're here to talk about soccer in the U.S. and
00:10actually two World Cups, the one that just happened and the one that's coming.
00:13So I want to start with you, JT. When we spoke before this summer's World Cup and I asked you
00:19about sort of your goals, your benchmarks for the tournament, you said that you thought the measure is, are fans
00:24proud? Are they proud of the way this team performed? Are they proud of the results?
00:28Did the World Cup make you want to go put on your U.S. soccer gear? Did you hit that?
00:33Do you think? What's your assessment now that it's over of the U.S. performance?
00:37Well, great to be with you. And I think based on the fact that we sold out of Nike jerseys
00:41in two runs, I think from the standpoint of making people want to go out and put on their jerseys
00:48certainly happened.
00:48And what was so incredible from the summer is the way that it brought the country together, brought communities together
00:54and made people fall in love with America who are coming in from out of the country, enjoying their ranches,
01:00dressing and buckies and all sorts of things.
01:03It also made people fall in love with their own cities. They experienced Kansas City or Atlanta or New York
01:07in ways they hadn't before, which is really incredible.
01:10And the country got behind the team. As you know, more than 50 million Americans watched our game, which is
01:18more than 2x the NBA finals, almost 3x the Super Bowl.
01:22Oh, sorry, a World Series. And so the scale of the energy and the pride and the belief from fans
01:29this summer was amazing.
01:30And it wasn't just belief about the men's team. It was also belief around what soccer can be and the
01:35energy and excitement from partners, from donors, from government leaders and people all across the country around investing in the
01:42sport
01:42and leaning in to help us achieve our soccer ambitions is super exciting.
01:46Right. On the field, you guys, four wins, some really great performances. I think Belgium, fair to say, didn't go
01:52the way you wanted.
01:53Did that leave you kind of with a little bit of hunger? Do you feel like the team did what
01:59they could met their potential or did they maybe fall short?
02:01Ultimately, our goal is to win. And our opportunity is to use the excitement and momentum from this summer to
02:09create the conditions to where, as we go into future World Cups on the men's side, we are expected to
02:15win.
02:15And I think there's a lot of opportunity to do that in terms of what the youth pathways look like
02:20in this country,
02:21how we partner with the professional leagues and how we ensure that we've got some of the world's great players.
02:26And I think that excitement around the taste of what's possible.
02:31And, you know, for those of you who are soccer fans, particularly men's national team fans,
02:36we've never gone into a game like that before, that big of a game where there was a belief that
02:41we could go in.
02:41And that was an incredible sort of feeling. And it's a it's incredible sort of opportunity for us as we
02:48go forward.
02:48Right. Angie, you had a pretty, I think, interesting World Cup experience yourself.
02:53The Kansas City current hosted in a sense or was the base camp for the Netherlands.
02:58And there were four federations in the Kansas City area. So it really was, I think, unusually, I think, I
03:06guess, a takeover by the World Cup this summer.
03:09What did you see and what do you think the lasting impact of that will be?
03:11I mean, I thought it was incredible. And I I thought I knew what I was getting into.
03:17I thought I knew what to expect. And it exceeded every expectations we did.
03:22We were the base camp for the Netherlands, England and Argentina and Algeria were all in the Kansas City area.
03:31And it was so fun. They, you know, I wouldn't say they took over the city.
03:37It was like they became part of the city. They integrated with our city and the energy and the number
03:45of people who I thought this was an incredible opportunity to educate so many more people on the game.
03:50You know, the game on the pitch, but also what it means just from a cultural perspective, the insight into
03:56other countries and just the pure love of the game and the competition.
04:02And it was an amazing opportunity for for Kansas City. And I think Kansas City did incredibly well on a
04:08world stage.
04:09We did a mini version of that in Montclair, where I live.
04:12A lot of the teams stayed at the hotel before playing matches in MetLife, including Spain before the final.
04:18You know, and so there were just mobs of people once they figured this out, outside trying to get autographs,
04:23trying to figure, you know, now we go to the pizza place that they ate from after they won.
04:27So it was it was pretty interesting. You have a lot of orange around. Yeah.
04:33But also I want to know after the U.S. lost to Belgium, there was a lot of talk about
04:37the U.S. soccer system for youth.
04:40And the idea that our pay to play system is a problem. I'm going to quote Tom Ferry from Aspen's
04:46Institute of Sports and Society.
04:48He said, you know, the U.S. system is not a youth centered or a talent development system.
04:53It's primarily a system set up to use kids to make money for adults.
04:56And I wonder kind of what you make of that assessment and how much you think that is a problem
05:01for U.S. soccer.
05:02And if so, like what can you do to change it?
05:05Sure. Well, you know, any of you have kids know that youth sports in America is way too expensive.
05:11There's way too much travel. There's way too much time.
05:13And you have to commit to playing a sport way too early.
05:16And so that, of course, also applies to soccer.
05:19But it is something that is a country we're facing and something that I think at U.S. soccer,
05:24we believe we have an opportunity and an obligation to lead in that regard.
05:27And, you know, our goal is to make it to where soccer is the number one played sport in every
05:31community.
05:32And so that means soccer has got to be in your neighborhood.
05:35It's got to be in your parks. It's got to be in your schools.
05:38It's got to be way more local for way longer.
05:41And for us to not just make the sport accessible, but to produce the players who are going to play
05:46for Casey Curran,
05:47who are going to play for the U.S. Women's National Team and win us World Cups,
05:50we also have to have one of the world's great development pathways.
05:54And that's done in partnership with the pro clubs, in partnership with the pro leagues.
05:57And so we're very focused on how we go do that.
06:03And, you know, for the last year or so, we've been working very closely with Arsene Wenger and his team
06:09from the FIFA Technical Development Group,
06:12studying around the world, around what makes great soccer systems,
06:17and then, of course, thinking about what that means for America.
06:20And our conclusion is that America has the ingredients to be one of the great soccer countries in the world.
06:24Our opportunity is how we put those things together.
06:27So a couple things that really hit me as we were thinking about this.
06:31If you go to any park in America, you go to any public school, what do they have?
06:35A basketball court.
06:36So that's public tax dollars making basketball accessible.
06:38We spend $3 billion a year on high school football.
06:42Again, public tax dollars.
06:44Think about how many academies we could have for $3 billion a year.
06:47And so America knows how to do this, and a lot of what we've been focused on with our great
06:54partners in the Nebusell,
06:55with Major League Soccer, USL, and communities across the country is what does that model look like?
06:59What's the American model that allows us to go win and allows it to where any kid who wants to
07:04play this sport can do that,
07:05and they can play for life?
07:06Right.
07:07You've been through this as a parent.
07:09Obviously, also you are closely connected to U.S. soccer.
07:13What do you think are things that need to change, if anything, in terms of how we both create a
07:19system that is equitable and enjoyable for parents and families,
07:23but also creates that elite talent pathway and helps the U.S. win?
07:27Yeah, I mean, I couldn't agree more with what J.T. said in terms of, you know, it's too expensive,
07:32it's too much travel, it's too focused, too early.
07:36And local is one of those key ingredients.
07:40And I think keeping it fun and possible, and the barriers to entry are obviously financial is one of them,
07:48but time is another.
07:50And the amount of time wasted and spent, you know, in a car or on a plane when there's kind
07:57of just no reason.
07:58So as much as we can bring things back to more local, and, you know, just as J.T. and
08:06I have been talking, I'm incredibly blown away with you start to pull in one string,
08:11and there's another, and there's another, and there's another.
08:13And the U.S. is set up so incredibly well if we just leverage a little bit more of what
08:18we already have.
08:19We have so many pieces, we have to just connect the pipes, but it's not, there's not like one singular
08:26thing we can do to improve accessibility, improve development.
08:31It's everywhere and everything we do, and I think this World Cup has provided the momentum and the understanding and
08:37the interest to continue to push now and make that change.
08:41Right. I mean, to me, the biggest question is sort of like who pays for it, right?
08:45And I think there's, you've done some interesting work in Kansas City around getting maybe people we wouldn't necessarily think
08:50of.
08:51In the U.S., it's kind of parents, but to get others to help create accessibility for people.
08:56And that to me is what's so exciting is everybody wants to help.
09:00People maybe just don't know how, don't have the direction, but we launched the first of its kind that I
09:07know of,
09:07a free league in a part of Kansas City where soccer would otherwise not be accessible.
09:13And I think there's probably 10 to 15 people that are partners on that.
09:19U.S. Soccer, Kansas City Current, LaCroix as a corporate partner, Nike.
09:28This is a great store because anyone that knows Kansas City, there's a Missouri and a Kansas.
09:32So this is a Missouri-based park where it's happening.
09:37Parks and Rec is involved in helping this happen.
09:41And Kansas Soccer Federation is the one that's also helping.
09:46Referees are volunteering.
09:47Everyone is coming together to give the opportunity.
09:51Nike gave a lot of gear as well to give the opportunity for these kids to be able to have
09:56a first-class experience
09:57right around the corner from their house where otherwise soccer kind of just doesn't exist.
10:01Right.
10:02I think, sorry, building on that, but it's important.
10:05This is the first generation of corporate business leaders, of community leaders, government leaders who are soccer people.
10:13And as you all know, sports sponsorships, very discretionary in terms of what you want to spend money on.
10:21And, of course, the demographics of soccer are so strong.
10:23The fans are younger.
10:25They're more diverse than any other sport.
10:27And, of course, it's growing.
10:29And so what we're seeing is some of these great corporate partners.
10:33So you mentioned Nike, Bank of America.
10:35I know it's working very closely with both of us and a number of other great partners who are leaning
10:41in around how do we actually use soccer to make an impact in communities.
10:45So another example of where we're working as U.S. soccer as well as Kansas City is in a soccer
10:51at schools program.
10:52And by bringing the best of what Bank of America has, which there are 95 different markets around the country,
10:58bringing the best of what U.S. soccer is and what we can bring together,
11:02more than a million kids will have access to soccer in schools this year.
11:06And we just started.
11:07And so the opportunity to bring the best of corporate America, to bring the best of business leaders and local
11:15leaders, philanthropic community and governments together to go drive impact, we're seeing that model work.
11:21This summer proved it.
11:22I think a lot more people got the bug and are excited to do that in their community.
11:26I think that segues nicely to my next question, which is the growing role of philanthropy for the federation in
11:31particular.
11:32You are unusual, I would say, among world soccer in that you have a big part of your budget comes
11:38from and growing part of your budget from gifts.
11:41You've got Arthur Blank who helped give for the new National Training Center in Atlanta.
11:45You've had gifts from Michelle Kang, large gifts.
11:47You had donors Scott Goodwin, Ken Griffin, who helped fund the pay for your current men's team coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
11:54I wonder if you could talk about kind of how you see that trend.
11:57Why did it get started and where is it going in terms of how you depend and lean on those
12:03donors?
12:03Well, as we talk about America having the ingredients to be one of the great soccer countries, one of our
12:07ingredients is a great culture of philanthropy.
12:10And, you know, as we were chatting before, and it's appropriate, you know, being in Bloomberg, you know, we're very
12:15focused on how we grow the soccer market here in the U.S.
12:18Because as your point, someone has to pay for these things.
12:21And so, yes, there are things we can do to reduce costs and make things more local, more affordable.
12:26But ultimately, someone's got to pay.
12:27And to do that, we have to grow the soccer market.
12:30And one of the ways that, you know, a number of industries and organizations in the U.S. have done
12:37that is through philanthropy.
12:38And in each one of our conversations, it's around how do we use philanthropy to jumpstart some part of the
12:46soccer ecosystem.
12:47So with Arthur Blank, it was building our first ever national training center.
12:51Arthur's money led to nine figures more of other support.
12:55Michelle Kang has been an incredible donor around supporting the youth pathways for young women.
13:01That's led to tens of millions of more support.
13:03You mentioned Ken and Scott Goodwin.
13:07That's led to eight figures of other support from corporate partners as well as from individuals, from governments.
13:12And so it's really around how do we use that as a catalyst to help us grow.
13:16And I think the opportunity for a philanthropist to be able to endow soccer programs in their community,
13:21their opportunity for them to be able to fund research in areas that otherwise wouldn't be funded.
13:26Because let's face it, the soccer market in the U.S. is still growing.
13:30We are not as mature as parts of England or parts of Europe and other parts of the world.
13:35And so for us to lead, we have to be creative around how we finance that.
13:39And, of course, philanthropy is a great way to do that.
13:42Right.
13:42And Angie, you've actually found, I think, some interesting ways of leveraging what you have in Kansas City to help.
13:48It's not necessarily a cash gift, but helping the U.S. Federation by hosting, essentially, with what you have in
13:54Kansas City.
13:55Yeah, we've had a lot of great partnerships, whether it's, you know, interactions with all the different areas of the
14:02youth national team programs and hosting them.
14:06And really, if we talk about connecting the pipes, right, it's kind of the understanding of what it means to
14:14be in an elite professional environment and facilities
14:18and what it means to play in a stadium built for a women's team and the support of fans.
14:24And I think that is part of the journey in a lot of other areas of the world.
14:30Females become professional at a much earlier age than often happens here.
14:34So how do you give those athletes the exposure and the understanding of what it really takes and what it
14:39really means to be a pro?
14:40And exposing them to those environments has been a big thing for us.
14:43Right, right. I do want to say, I mean, we have an audience question here, which I think is a
14:47good one of kind of how U.S. soccer looks at this situation right now
14:51with FIFA, Yanni Infantino kind of at war with UEFA over that attempted outside funding stake sale.
14:59How does the U.S. soccer look at that and the potential consequences for you of the fallout from that?
15:05Because I think we don't really know yet is Infantino going to still be in charge, you know, after the
15:10next vote.
15:11How do you look at the situation?
15:12Well, I think as it relates to the FIFA forward proposal, you know, we came out very quickly with a
15:21statement that we were not in support of that plan.
15:26We are believers that the role of FIFA to grow the game is super important.
15:31And we do believe that the soccer market needs to grow across the world.
15:36And one of the stats that really blew me away was the number of countries around the world that don't
15:42have organized soccer under the age of 15.
15:44It was a large percentage of the countries. You wouldn't think that.
15:48Soccer exists, but not in a non-organized way.
15:50And so the role of an organization like FIFA to ensure that funds are supporting the growth of the game
15:57for girls and boys across the world is super, super, super important.
16:01And I think, you know, the last month or so has highlighted the importance of ensuring that you have the
16:08right governance, that you have the right strategy, and you have the right approach to do that.
16:12And so, you know, we've been working very closely with federations and confederations around the world around, you know, what
16:21should that be and what could that look like.
16:23And we're excited about the opportunity to focus on this.
16:26It's not something that's been focused on enough, and it's something that we think is super, super important to grow
16:31the sport.
16:32That said, you know, I often get questions like, oh, it must be nice now.
16:36The World Cup's over. You get to relax.
16:38It has been busier now than during the World Cup because people are so excited.
16:41People want to lean in. They want to help.
16:43And we know we have this moment of time.
16:45And so in terms of how it's affecting us, it's, you know, we're go, go, go.
16:49But we also think there's an opportunity for us to help lead that discussion to help the game continue to
16:56grow around the world.
16:57There's a ton we could dig in on that.
16:58We're almost out of time.
16:59So I want to ask you, Angie, about next summer, World Cup in Brazil.
17:03Kind of what are your hopes for that tournament and how the tournament and the NWSL kind of feed off
17:09of each other?
17:11I mean, I'm, again, as excited as I was for the Men's World Cup, it exceeded.
17:15I feel like Brazil is going to be the same thing.
17:18And it's going to be an amazing, you always grow the game so much coming out of these events.
17:26And we're obviously big believers in Brazil.
17:28We opened an academy in Brazil earlier this year, and we're continuing our development there.
17:35But it's going to be absolutely fantastic.
17:39It's going to be awesome.
17:40It's going to be amazing.
17:41And then, you know, 31, we're going to go to 48 teams.
17:45And I think, you know, that is one of the amazing things that comes out of focusing on growing the
17:51game.
17:51Agreed.
17:52Very good.
17:53Well, I think that is all the time we have.
17:54Thank you all for being here.
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