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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Matt Hughes

Can the USMNT and USWNT become ‘America’s favorite sports teams’? Their CEO thinks so

JT Batson speaks at a conference in March 2025.
US Soccer chief executive JT Batson is optimistic about the USMNT’s World Cup chances even after a disappointing March window. Photograph: Howard Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF

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.

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