Fireside Chat, Interview
US Soccer's JT Batson in the World Cup and Scaling the Game
- Utilizes the World Cup, LA 28, and 2031 Women's World Cup as a five-year window to replicate the cultural shifts seen after 1994, 1996, and 1999 sporting events, aiming to drive a generational shift where youth wear U.S. jerseys and public engagement surges.
- Targets a 10-year horizon to establish pro leagues, consistently winning national teams, and soccer as the number one played sport in every community, while acknowledging these ambitions are long-term goals.
- Plans to institutionalize winning through core attacking mindsets, scaling beliefs from the current player pool to hundreds of thousands of youth, and ensuring coaches commit to mission principles.
- Seeks systemic changes in youth participation by collaborating with school superintendents, county commission heads, and club teams to embed soccer in schools and parks, while overhauling the current "insane" cost and time commitment models to make them healthier for families.
- Anticipates evolving the men's D1 college calendar to a full-year fall and spring schedule featuring one game per week, alongside prioritizing the development of the women's college pathway to maintain global leadership.
- Leverages the National Training Center as a primary recruiting tool to allow coaches to physically experience the sport, while focusing on building one-to-one relationships to deliver superior fan experiences.
- Expects governments and corporate partners to increase financial support due to the recognized size of the soccer market, while capitalizing on capital markets to grow businesses within the sector.
- Engages in ongoing conversations with FIFA over the coming weeks and months regarding private equity investment, predicting tangible benefits from these discussions to maximize global impact.
- Recognizes that men's and women's global landscapes differ requiring distinct strategies, though the organization maintains that both futures are stronger together.
- Warns that achieving number one played sport status and consistent global victories are not immediate results, but rather outcomes of building the necessary systems, processes, and working relationships over time.