Key Takeaways
- U.S. Soccer has secured early-stage memorandums of understanding with MLS, NWSL, USL, youth organizations, and key sponsors for its new Pathway Strategy
- The initiative aims to reduce youth soccer costs, make soccer the country’s top participation sport, and develop World Cup-winning teams
- MLS owners now invest over $125 million annually in free-to-play youth development, up from essentially zero a decade ago
- Arsène Wenger and consulting firm Twenty First Group provided strategic input on global benchmarking and player development standards
- 95% of American soccer development occurs outside USSF’s direct control, requiring unprecedented stakeholder cooperation
A Unified Vision Takes Shape
The U.S. Soccer Federation is moving forward with a comprehensive plan to reshape the American soccer landscape, CEO JT Batson told The Athletic. The “Pathway Strategy” has secured buy-in from critical stakeholders across the sport’s fragmented ecosystem.
“Early-stage memorandums of understanding have been signed, with timelines and deadlines for actions to come into effect,” Batson said. The federation has brought together MLS, NWSL, USL, youth soccer organizations, key sponsors, and community groups around shared goals.
The strategy focuses on three core objectives: reducing the financial barriers that limit youth participation, establishing soccer as America’s most-played sport, and developing men’s and women’s national teams capable of winning World Cups.
The Pay-to-Play Problem
The urgency behind the Pathway Strategy reflects the current state of youth soccer economics. Families currently pay between $5,000 and $20,000 annually for competitive club soccer, according to industry estimates. In the U.S., family fees account for 90% or more of youth club budgets, compared to just 14% in European soccer systems.
This cost structure has consequences. Soccer participation among children ages 6-12 dropped 4.4% over a three-year period ending in 2024, despite overall growth in youth participation. Only 10% of outdoor soccer players come from households earning under $25,000 annually, while 35% come from households making $100,000 or more.
“We agree we need to make soccer more accessible,” Batson said. “There’s 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.”
Professional League Investment Shifts the Model
MLS’s financial commitment to youth development represents a significant change. The league now invests more than $125 million annually in player development pathways serving over 58,000 youth players, according to MLS data. A decade ago, that investment was close to zero.
MLS NEXT, the league’s elite youth platform, expanded to 273 clubs with 43,000+ players for the 2025-26 season. The program now produces 93% of U.S. youth national team players, based on June 2025 MLS figures.
“MLS owners now spend nine figures a year on free-to-play youth soccer opportunities as part of their player development efforts,” Batson said. “Ten years ago, that was essentially nothing.”
Don Garber, MLS Commissioner, said the Pathway Strategy “represents an important step toward a more unified development system in this country.”
Global Expertise Informs Strategy
U.S. Soccer’s research process included consultations with international soccer experts. Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global development and former Arsenal manager, “deserves a lot of credit” for his contributions, Batson said.
The federation also enlisted Twenty First Group, a sports intelligence consultancy, to benchmark international standards. The firm is analyzing how many players from the world’s top 1,000 must typically be in a World Cup squad for teams reaching the quarterfinals or beyond.
Sporting Director Matt Crocker, who helped establish England’s development system and oversaw the creation of Southampton’s academy model, acknowledged the scale of the challenge. He has noted that 95% of American player development occurs at the club level, outside USSF’s direct control.
The federation even studied public health campaigns, including efforts to reduce drunk driving and smoking, to understand how to drive cultural change across all 50 states.
What Comes Next
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, provides a catalyst for implementation. Batson described the tournament, along with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and potential 2031 Women’s World Cup hosting, as opportunities to leverage major events for systemic change.
“With people in the room, working together, it’s possible,” Batson said. “Our task is to use the big moments of ’26, ’28 and ’31 to get governments to invest in fields, to get schools to put soccer in.”
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes said the strategy aims 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.”
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino added that he is “so happy to see that U.S. Soccer is taking the right steps forward in this process.”
Specific program details and implementation timelines remain undisclosed. The federation indicated it will share updates as the strategy moves from planning to execution.
SOURCES:
- “What we’re hearing about World Cup 2026: New plan to make soccer largest U.S. sport” – The Athletic, Adam Crafton, November 20, 2025
- “U.S. Soccer Federation launches new growth strategy for all levels of play” – Sports Business Journal, November 21, 2025
- “MLS Turns 30: How Soccer’s Youth Pipeline Became America’s Biggest Sports Business Surprise” – Youth Sports Business Report, July 17, 2025
- U.S. Soccer Federation official website – Pathways Strategy page
- “The Problematic ‘Pay-to-Play’ System in U.S. Youth Soccer” – Fierce United, January 27, 2025
- “U.S. Soccer and NextGen College Soccer Committee Release White Paper” – U.S. Soccer Official Website, October 16, 2025
- Photo: Kevin C Cox / Getty Images
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