US Soccer chief executive JT Batson has set the men’s and women’s national teams the ambitious target of becoming America’s favorite entities in sports.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Batson added mass popularity for Mauricio Pochettino’s and Emma Hayes’s teams to US Soccer’s goals ahead of this summer’s men’s World Cup, a list that already included making soccer the biggest participation sport in every community in the country.
A YouGov tracker of the most popular sports teams in America has the US women’s national team 14th in a table headed by the USA Olympic team followed by the Chicago Bulls and Pittsburgh Steelers, with the USMNT down in 43rd.
After winning Olympic gold at Paris 2024, Hayes’s side were ranked fifth in the YouGov table, while in the immediate aftermath of Pochettino’s hiring as head coach the men’s team were 11th.
There are hopes that a successful World Cup campaign on home soil this summer can have a transformative effect, particularly given the USWNT are among the favorites for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil before the US is set to co-host the next tournament in 2031.
“We want our men’s and women’s national teams to be America’s teams,” Batson said. “We want them to be the most followed, and to be the favorite teams of Americans.
“Both teams have been close to the top 10, with the women in the top five, so we’re already in a good place and hopefully we’ll continue that.
We have an opportunity with this summer, the Women’s World Cup next year, the LA Olympics [in 2028] and then the 2031 World Cup to really propel the men’s and women’s national teams to be the top teams in America in any sport.
“Of course, they’re America’s favorite soccer teams now, but there’s an opportunity for them to be America’s favorite sports teams. From a participation standpoint and a fandom standpoint, we’re focused on soccer truly being everywhere in the US.”
Batson was speaking in Atlanta where USMNT suffered two defeats in four days to European opposition last week, but the 2-0 loss to Portugal after a 5-2 loss to Belgium did not douse his optimism.
The crowd of 72,297 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Portugal made the game the highest grossing event in US Soccer history, and followed the opening of the region’s $250m National Training Center, where 27 US teams will now be based.
Growing attendances, a large portfolio of commercial deals with Nike, Coca-Cola and Bank of America, as well as significant philanthropic donations from the likes of Arthur Blank and Michele Kang have combined to help US Soccer project revenues of $300m this year, a 16% increase on the previous 12 months.
US Soccer’s projected share of Fifa’s profits from the tournament, expected to be around $100m, is not included in those forecasts so the federation will have considerable funds to reinvest in grassroots programs.
A Soccer Forward legacy program is already in operation that aims to ensure the sport is available to all, as well as a new Pathway Strategy to ensure there are clear routes from the recreational game to competitive matches and ultimately the professional and international level.
“We have ambitions to grow quickly, at scale, and want soccer to be the number one played sport in every community in this country,” Batson said. “To do that it has to be accessible. We want soccer to be in every school, to put soccer within reach of every kid in America who wants to go and play.
“The legacy of the 1994 World Cup was the creation of Major League Soccer, and we want to use this summer as a catalyst to make soccer the sport for the entire country. Whether you’re a 4-year-old just getting started, whether you’re 14 and have the dreams of playing for a national team, or you’re now 34 and have retired, but want to become a coach or referee. We want to make sure we have world-class pathways for our boys and girls so that they can achieve their soccer dreams.”
A winning team this summer would certainly help, and expectations remain high despite the Belgium and Portugal defeats.
“Christian Pulisic talked [recently] about pressure being a privilege, a great Billie Jean King quote,” Batson said, “The players are excited about being in large stadiums, in front of a huge number of fans, feeling the hopes, the dreams of the country behind them. These are great players who play at great clubs around the world. This is what you dream of.
“I actually think success will be, ‘do the fans believe? Are they proud? And do they feel this is a team that represents their passion, their hopes and their dreams?’”
