USWNT Lawsuit For Equal Pay Ahead of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019

FIFA Women's World Cup Pay USWNT

U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) vs U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF)

Mayor, Morgan, Heath & Rapinoe

Less than one month prior to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the USSF and the USWNT are butting heads over fair pay. 28 players, including Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, are the plaintiffs. In this lawsuit, the USWNT’s names the current payment situation as gender discrimination. This has even drawn support from Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, Sloane Stephens and former FIFA head of women’s soccer, Tatiana Haenni. Here are the arguments for and against the USSF.

Gender Inequality

As previously discussed on the Unafraid Show, sports needs to make greater strides towards gender equality in coaching. For women’s soccer, they also want equality in pay. In their case, the USWNT identifies 41 different issues with equal pay. Three stand out: prize money and bonuses, doing the “right thing” and success.

Less Prize Money for Women of USWNT

After losing in the round of sixteen in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the men’s team earned 5.375 million dollars in bonuses. Dissimilarly, the women (2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup winners) only received 1.725 million dollars in bonuses. Additionally, FIFA allocated 30 million dollars of prize money for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup versus 440 million dollars for the 2022 FIFA (men’s) World Cup. The winning women’s team will earn 4 million dollars in prize money, but that is far below the 38 million dollars gain by France in 2018.

Merit and Doing the “Right Thing”

In a 2016 lawsuit against the USSF (for similar reasons), lawyer Jeffrey Kessler brought up a strong argument in favor of equal pay regardless of revenue. He noted that figure skating distributes prize money equally. Even though the women produce more revenue than men, figure skating chooses to “do the right thing”. Like this, Kessler and the USWNT believe that the USSF should set a strong example moving forward with equal pay.

Unlike the U.S. Men, U.S. Women are Actually Good at Soccer

US women's soccer team pileon vs Japan, Olympic gold medal match, August 9, 2012

For years, the U.S. National Men’s soccer team has been a disappointment. They didn’t even qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On the other hand, the U.S. Women’s National Team is adorned with success. The USWNT won the World Cup in 1991, 1999 and 2015 in addition to winning four Olympic gold medals. Each of these are feats that the men’s team haven’t come close to, let alone achieve it multiple times. Because of this success, the 2015 Women’s World Cup final broke the record for being the most watched soccer match shown on English-language television” in the US. This wasn’t just the most watched soccer game involving a U.S. team, it was the most viewed soccer game in America, period.

USSF Retort

On Tuesday of this week, the USSF sent their volley back at the USWNT in their federal statement.

Pay-For-Play

First off, the USSF argued that the U.S. Women’s National team can’t compare apple to oranges. The sports the U.S. men and women play and their contracts are different. Contract-wise, the USMNT and USWNT have different CBAs. Men are paid strictly by matches played. This is a “pay-for-play” structure. They are not compensated year-round for being called up to the national team. Women, on the other hand, are under contract with benefits for their entire tenure with the national team. This includes guaranteed salaries, half-pay maternity leave, and even paying the salaries of national team players in the N.W.S.L. Because of the stark difference between the structures of the men’s and women’s collective bargaining agreements, U.S. Soccer refuses to admit disparities on sex. Especially because the USSF claims that the women “consistently rejected all proposals” for a pay-for-play structure.

Revenue Matters to the USSF and FIFA

Furthermore, the USSF backed their stance against the allegations on gender-based pay. “Any alleged pay differential” is due to the “aggregate revenue” differences generated by each teams, among other factors. Sunil Gulati, U.S. Soccer’s president, said that revenue generation should matter in a market economy. Though the 2015 World Cup final broke viewing records, Gulati noted that, on average since 2012, the men’s ratings are more than double than the women’s. Taking World Cup games out of the equation, those numbers are almost four times as high. So even with record-breaking views, women’s soccer in the US is still below men’s in revenue and ratings. Like this, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, said that the prize money for the World Cup tournaments are “linked with the revenues that are generated”. Thus, Gulati and the USSF argue, the pay differential is legal and not sex-based.

Should Revenue Matter?

The short answer is an obvious yes. Revenue matters. Money talks. Capitalism in U.S. sports is highly relevant. However, revenue can be quite different at times when opposing sides are comparing notes. Dwight Jaynes of NBC Sports compared the respective revenues of the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups. In 2010, the men’s World Cup brought in four billion dollars, of which the teams split 9-percent.

On the contrary, the women’s World Cup brought in 73 million dollars in 2015, of which teams shared 13-percent. Additionally, of the six billion dollars generated by the men’s World Cup in 2018, teams split less than 7-percent. Whereas, this Women’s World Cup is expected to earn 131 million dollars and dole out 30 million dollars. If that estimation is correct, FIFA prize money for women would be almost 17-percent higher than men. This suggests that FIFA is much more generous to women than men.

But, the Associated Press reported that generated money is quite unclear. This is because much of FIFA’s revenue comes from top sponsors signed up for both World Cups.

“That’s something never really analyzed.” “What is the potential value of the Women’s World Cup? Nobody knows the Women’s World Cup commercial value because it’s not sold separately. This is something that should at least be discussed.”

Tatiana Haenni, former FIFA head of women’s soccer

So, if the revenues are difficult to assess, why then do both sides claim to have a strong grasp on the generated money?

Is U.S. Soccer Sexist?

USA Soccer Fans (4705515039)

Murky Waters

Without clear financials, it is extremely difficult to assess the equality in U.S. soccer. If revenue numbers from the World Cup and prize money percentages are correct, U.S. soccer does practice unfair gender payment… but in favor of women. Proportionally, they would out-earn men in soccer based off of that revenue generated. With that being said, soccer lacks study into revenue streams.

Ratings and Views

It becomes murkier when considering World Cup views. Women, in the 2015 final, set record ratings. How could a World Cup winning team set a record for viewing, yet still fall below men in the same sport that didn’t make it past the round of sixteen? It’s baffling, but it’s about more than one game. Greater action requires longevity and consistency. A single blip of a game won’t be enough for change. They need to earn ratings and revenue equal to, or close to, the men in order to garner financial success.

The Future is Promising

At the moment, there is not enough public evidence to persecute U.S. Soccer in gender-inequality. Obviously, this isn’t good for women. Such a large gap in the same exact sport is an incredibly hard pill to swallow. Yet, there is hope. First off, both Visa and Adidas came out in support for equal pay. Visa reported they will invest as much marketing support to women’s football as they did with the men’s FIFA World Cup in Russia. Additionally, Adidas promised to pay equal bonuses for their sponsored players if they win the World Cup.

Last, the USWNT has the chance this summer to cement themselves as America’s favorite soccer team. Without a berth in 2018, American soccer fans lacked a home team. Now, those same fans have the reigning champs for the 2019 World Cup. If the USWNT can somehow pull off another World Cup win, they should garner more attention, sponsors and ticket sales in the future. Should female athletes have to outperform their male counterparts by miles in order to get equal pay? Of course not. But with how male-dominated professional and national sports are, it’s the current state of soccer.

Get Out and Support Female Athletes

So, I’ll end with a call to action. To fans of all sports. Go watch this World Cup. Follow every match, Tweet about these impressive athletes and bring attention to the sport. Help push the USWNT into not only another World Cup final, but a level playing field with men.

USWNT Goalkeepers: 2019 Women’s World Cup Roster Watch, Part 1

Fifa World Cup USWNT goal keepers
Hope Solo USA Training

As they prepare for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the USWNT goalkeepers have big gloves to fill. In 2016, the USWNT decided to terminate Hope Solo’s contract in controversy. Solo was the greatest women’s goalkeeper in U.S. history and probably the world. From the 2007 World Cup, she dominated the international level and was an intimidating wall to opposition. Solo holds U.S. records for international appearances, starts, wins, shutouts, wins in a season, consecutive minutes played and the longest undefeated streak. Solo led the U.S. to two Olympic gold medals and a second-place finish in the 2011 Women’s World Cup, earning the Golden Glove. Most notably, Solo’s strength, leadership and prowess as a goalkeeper led the U.S. to win the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

But now, without Solo, how will the USWNT goalkeepers fare? For over two decades, the U.S. had arguably the best back-to-back set of goalkeepers in Briana Scurry and Hope Solo. They covered six World Cups in that time. That was then. This is now. All eyes are on the USWNT to repeat their 2015 success (especially considering their lawsuit for equal pay). Because of Jill Ellis’ decision to only bring only six midfielders and seven defenders, the defense and goalkeeping will have to be stout. One injury or two yellow cards to those positions puts this team at a high risk of collapsing. The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup is a big test for the USWNT goalkeepers. Let’s hope they are mentally prepared for it.

Starting USWNT Goalkeeper

Alyssa Naeher | Age: 31 | Caps: 44

Following the Hope Solo fallout, Alyssa Naeher rose to the top of the USWNT goalkeeper’s depth chart. Alyssa Naeher is the starting goalkeeper for the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL. In her 23 games in 2018, Naeher recorded a save success rate of 67.7-percent and 7 clean sheets. One year prior, in 2017, Naeher had a 72-percent save success rate and 6 clean sheets.

She was drafted 11th overall in the 2010 Women’s Professional Soccer draft. Since then, Naeher played for the Boston Breakers (WPS), the Turbine Potsdam (Frauen-Bundesliga), the Boston Breakers (NWSL) and the Chicago Red Stars. Naeher was NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year in 2014 when she broke the record for saves in a season (106). Soccer analysts acclaim Naeher as a top-ten goalkeeper heading into the 2019 Women’s World Cup, but criticize her lack of big-game experience and mistake prone play.

Alyssa Naeher June2018 warmup

U-20 and Post-Solo Success

While Naeher doesn’t have World Cup experience, she does have starter experience in the U-20 Women’s World Cup. In that tournament, the Naeher earned the Golden Glove, while the USWNT U-20 took first place. Naeher also was on the 2015 Women’s World Cup roster. She wasn’t in the game, but she was a part of the preparation and saw the games unfold from the sidelines. Bench minutes are not equal to play minutes, but at least Naeher was part of it all. Internationally, Naeher has 43 appearances. In 2017, she started 13 of the USWNT’s 16 matches, recorded 6 shutouts and  a 0.85 goals allowed average. Her strengths are in diving, reflexes and positioning. Naeher’s weaknesses are in handling and a lack of international starting experience. Critics will be quick to compare her to Solo and Scurry. Against Thailand on June 11th, Naeher needs to set the tone of her tournament.

Backup USWNT Goalkeepers

Obviously, it is a bad moment when a team turns to its backup goalkeeper. That means one of the following: injury, yellow/red card suspension, or poor play. U.S. fans do not want to see any of that. Top performances from Alyssa Naeher are the hope for U.S. soccer fans. Regardless, it is still important to know the goalkeepers in case of calamity or to better understand the future of the USWNT.

Ashlyn Harris | Age: 33 | Caps: 21

Ashlyn Harris (43230471532)

Ashlyn Harris is the starting goalkeeper for the Orlando Pride in the NWSL. In her 21 games in 2018, Harris recorded a save success rate of 66.7-percent and 4 clean sheets. One year prior, in 2017, Harris had a 66.7-percent save success rate and 2 clean sheets in 14 games.

Youth Standout

Though Harris is incredibly talented with a rich history of club and youth-international play, injuries stifled her career. She was a standout goalkeeper at a young age. At Satellite High, she won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award. Harris earned 39 caps for the USWNT U-19 squad. Playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels, she led them to three national titles.

Professional and International Career

After an impressive young career, Harris was taken 19th overall in the Women’s Professional Soccer Draft by the St. Louis Athletica. However, she was taken as the backup to Hope Solo. Therefore, she never played a match with them. Since then, Harris played for the Washington Freedom, Western New York Flash, FCR 2001 Duisburg (Frauen-Bundesliga), Washington Spirit, Tyresö FF (Swedish Division 1) and the Orlando Pride. Harris holds three NCAA Women’s Soccer Championships (2006, 2008, 2009), one Women’s Professional Soccer Championship (2011), one FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup Championship (2002) and one FIFA Women’s World Cup Championship (2015). She was also the 2016 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year.

Internationally, Harris played as the backup to Hope Solo in the 2015 Women’s World Cup and now backs up Alyssa Naeher in the 2019 Women’s World Cup. She has 21 total caps and has yet to carve out consistent playing time. Harris also suffered a minor knee injury in April. But, she appears to be fit and ready for competition.

On a personal note, Harris’s fiance Ali Krieger is also on the 23-women USWNT roster

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Adrianna Franch | Age: 28 | Caps: 1

Adrianna Franch is the starting goalkeeper for the Portland Thorns in the NWSL. In her 16 games in 2018, Franch recorded a save success rate of 73.9-percent and 3 clean sheets. One year prior, in 2017, Naeher had a 80.2-percent save success rate and 12 clean sheets in 26 games. In each season, she earned the title of NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year.

Collegiate Success

Our youngest and least experienced of the USWNT goalkeepers, Adrianna Franch is exceptional. At Oklahoma State University, Franch was the seventh player in Big 12 history to earn All-Big 12 First Team in each of her four seasons. Franch’s 38 collegiate shutouts are an OSU record and sixth all time in NCAA history.

Best Goalkeeper in the NWSL

Taken sixth overall in the 2013 college draft of the NWSL by the Western New York Flash, Franch quickly impressed soccer fans. She recorded six saves in her first game and helped the Flash to an NWSL Shield in 2013. Then, after missing the 2014 NWSL season, Franch started 12 matches for the Norwegian Avaldsnes IL in the Toppserien league. They finished second place in 2015. Then, Franch found her home in Portland. Franch recorded three shutouts in just six games in 2016, aiding the Portland Thorns to an NWSL Shield. Then, Franch led the Portland Thorns to an NWSL Championship in 2017. She was the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Franch is the first player to win this award twice.

Adrianna Franch 2016-09-04 (29176813590) (cropped)

Though Franch is decorated collegiately and professionally, she lacks international experience. She only has one cap to her name. Nonetheless, Franch very well could be the best goalkeeper on the roster. She plays in the same league as both Naeher and Harris, recorded better save success percentages in 2017 and 2018, and held a clean-sheet on 37.5-percent of her games with the Portland Thorns. She may be buried on the USWNT goalkeeper roster right now, but Franch is the future of this team.

Will the NBA, MLB or NHL Overtake the NFL As America’s Favorite Sport?

Will the NBA, MLB or NHL Overtake the NFL As America's Favorite Sport?

America Loves Football

Football. It’s Goliath and America’s favorite sport. Since the 1970’s, America transitioned to loving football more than baseball and its fans haven’t turned back. According to polls in 2018 by Ranker and a Gallup, the NFL is the leading choice for favorite sport by fans. In addition to this, the NFL has led all sports leagues in America, and the world itself, in revenue. But, with declining viewership in 2016 and 2017, political issues, and the expansion of other professional sports, will football reign king in 2030?

In order to find out, this article will review America’s Big-Three:

  • The National Football League (NFL)
  • Major League Baseball (MLB)
  • The National Basketball Association (NBA)

This article will also discuss the rise of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Soccer (MLS).

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Although baseball is no longer America’s Pastime, it has still done very well in recent years. Major League Baseball has seen 16 consecutive years of gross revenue records. “Since 1992, when Bud Selig took over as commissioner on a full-time basis, league gross revenues have grown 377% when accounting for inflation.” In 2018, Major League Baseball totaled 10.3 billion dollars in revenue. Baseball got paid. Even with a four-percent drop in attendance in 2018, its television revenues remained stable while sponsorship increased. In addition, Fox signed a new extension with Major League Baseball that runs from 2022 to 2028 and totals 5.1 billion dollars.

The problem with baseball’s overall popularity is it’s singular nature. Most baseball fans couldn’t care less about any league other than Major League Baseball. College baseball, Triple-A baseball have limited fandom attached. NCAA football and basketball are huge. Soccer has a plethora of different sports leagues spanning the entire globe in addition to the World Cup for both women and men. Basketball also has the NCAA tournament for women and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Baseball doesn’t have that. It is an isolated sports league in revenue, views and fans. So it makes sense that many American’s don’t choose baseball as their favorite sport.

However, as far as fans per league go, baseball is still mainstream. As of 2017 data, Major League Baseball, when compared to other American professional sports, had:

  • Highest attendance
  • Second-most active fans
  • Second-most Avid fans
  • Second-most fans of any interest
  • Second-most television views
  • Second-most purchased clothing/apparel with team logos

Will Major League Baseball outgrow the National Football League? It’s highly unlikely. Nonetheless, Major League Baseball revenue, attendance, and television viewership will keep it relevant for years to come.

The National Basketball Association (NBA)

Basketball is attempting to make a major push as a contender. In an interview with CNBC, Washington Wizards majority-owner Ted Leonis compared the NBA to a growing stock. High speed cameras, data, and transparency have set up the NBA for gaming and gambling. Considering the supreme court recently declared sports gambling legal, this is an incredibly smart move by the NBA. The Wizards even broadcasted games on an alternate local channel that was designed for sports gamblers. Including real-time odds and contests may seem insignificant, but attracting a new and growing sports gambling market will set the NBA up quite nicely.

One argument against the growth of basketball is the ratings of the 2017-2018 NBA Finals. Just a few years prior, the 2015-2016 NBA Finals had the best ratings since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had their second three-peat. The 31 million viewers put Game Seven of the 2015-2016 NBA Finals in elite company. Only two other NBA Finals games, both in different three-peat Championship games of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, had over 30 million viewers. But in the 2017-2018 NBA Finals, the average viewers dropped nearly 3 million from the previous season.

Perhaps this is due to fans seeing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers battle Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors for the fourth-consecutive season. Fans were bored. It was the same story each year. LeBron dragging a team to the NBA Finals only to lose to the Golden State Warriors wasn’t anything new. But lucky for the NBA, this will be the first post-season without LeBron James since the 2004-2005 season. The 2018-2019 NBA Finals will also be the first LeBron-less finals in nine seasons. This season is different and the parity will be refreshing for basketball followers.

NBA Global Expansion

Ratings aside, the NBA is evolving and pushing worldwide expansion. Striking international broadcast deals and making games/highlights more viewable for international audiences is the NBA’s newest target. The top-five markets for NBA basketball outside the US are China, Austrailia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. There are currently over 178 million Chinese followers of the NBA across social media channels in addition to over 300 million Chinese basketball players. More than 30-percent of the NBA league pass subscriptions are in Asia. Basketball is also the second-fastest growing sport in India and the league in running Junior NBA schemes across Asia and Australia.

This global expansion is welcomed and operated by owners and players alike. Ted Leonis described international games as business trips. Winning the game was only one part of the goal for players and management. Public appearances, sponsorship meetings and media deals were just as important to the league. Making NBA basketball global has a huge monetary incentive. Creating a larger market allows for a greater chance for sponsors, media deals and merchandise sales. It also increases the likelihood of talent. India and China alone combine for nearly 2.8 billion people. They make up 36-percent of the world’s population. Capitalizing on that market is the NBA’s best chance to compete with the NFL.

The NBA is a strong contender for 2030’s top American sports league. If they continue to press these three goals:

  • Capture Sports Gambling Market with Gambling-Friendly Broadcasts
  • Increase Talent Pool Worldwide
  • Grow International Revenue and Media Deals

The National Hockey League (NHL)

With the expansion to Seattle in 2021, the National Hockey League will have its 32nd franchise, equaling the NFL’s total. Hockey has been growing in the US and making its way across the states. This can be seen by its revenue jump in the past decade. Since the 2006-2007 season, the NHL’s revenue has doubled. Gathering in over 4 billion dollars in revenue in 2017-2018 pushed the NHL to become the fifth-highest sports league in the world in revenue. Expansion to more cities and national growth of fans has been great to the NHL.

Of note, hockey has also seem a substantial increase in youth popularity. While the percentage of 6-12 year olds playing youth football, basketball, baseball, and soccer has declined, youth hockey has seen a 64-percent rise in recent years. There are also roughly 45 thousand high school participants in ice hockey.

From the fans that have been paying attention, it’s no surprise that hockey is on the up and up. However, the idea the NHL will surpass the NFL by 2030 is short of a dream. The NFL brought in roughly three times the amount of revenue. With that being said, the NHL putting itself in the Big-Three by 2030 and edging out Major League Baseball does have a small chance.

Major League Soccer (MLS)

The dark horse of all American sports leagues is Major League Soccer (MLS). Many consider Major League Soccer the little brother (or distant relative) of European soccer. Yes, the Premier League does garner much success, ranking fourth in revenue in worldwide sports league. Yes the MLS has been in the shadow of other professional sports, but it has seen a hockey-like surge. Since 2008, Major League Soccer went from 14 teams to 24 and will have 27 teams by 2021. The league will also name its 28th team next season. Soccer is expanding across cities in the US.

Major League Soccer was also Yahoo Finance’s Business of the Year. Both ticket revenue and attendance were up in the 2018. Global stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic entering Major League Soccer have drawn support and increased followers of the league.

Most important, Major League Soccer’s 30th anniversary will coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This World Cup will take place in America. Due to a joint bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, games will be played in Mexico, Canada and the United States. In addition, the quarterfinals through the final will all be played in the United States. This will be monumental for Major League Soccer. Hosting the world’s most popular single-sport competition will certainly give Major League Soccer a major boost.

Nevertheless, just like the NHL, Major League Soccer will not be able to compete with the NFL. If it can grow to the revenue currently experienced by the NHL, that would be a large success. But don’t set expectations high for MLS soccer.

The National Football League: The King Stay the King

Following 2017, many thought that the NFL was losing its grip on America. It experienced a drop in ratings in back to back years. But that didn’t last long. TV viewership in 2018 had resurged five-percent from 2017. Sunday Night Football also was the top primetime show seven years in a row. Viewers are no longer an argument against the NFL.

Views aside, its best to review money. If money talks, the NFL is shouting. In 2018, the NFL brought in 13.68 billion dollars in revenue, averaging 427 million dollars per franchise. The 2018 purchase of the Carolina Panthers should also be noted. David Pepper’s 2.2 billion dollar purchase was an 800 million dollar increase from the price paid for the Buffalo Bills in 2014. This revenue increase and demand is associated with commissioner Roger Goodell.

Since taking over as league commissioner in 2005, Goodell has led a revenue increase from 6.5 billion to 13.68 billion dollars. He aims for 25 billion dollars by 2027. Changing league rules, negotiating media contracts and expanding global reach to London and Mexico keeps the NFL at the top.

The introduction of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and the reintroduction of the XFL will also raise football’s fandom. These leagues will make games more affordable to attend as a gateway to NFL game attendance. They also will act as development leagues for players, schemes, coaches, rules and business. Utilizing them in such a way will provide the NFL exactly what it needs to remain king.

Final Rankings for 2030

As much as some would love the NFL’s top spot to be taken over by 2030, it just won’t happen. Football has a firm grasp on America. Fantasy football was large enough to support “The League” for seven seasons on FX. The Super Bowl is America’s most-watched game. And roughly a third of Americans polled by Gallup picked football as their favorite sport. Football just has too much. Roger Goodell has also proved that he is willing to alter the game each season and push revenue forward for league owners. Ever evolving and popular, the NFL will still be at the top.

With that being said, the NBA will close the gap significantly with the NFL by 2030. International expansion, rising young stars and LeBron’s development with the Los Angeles Lakers will bring the NBA to sports royalty. Two giants competing with one another. Football and basketball will be the Big-Two.

In conclusion, here are my 2030 rankings for America’s sports leagues by revenue with one bold prediction for hockey:

  • Big-Two: The NFL (No.1) and the NBA (No. 2)
  • Next Up: The NHL (No. 3) and the MLB (No. 4)
  • Keep Climbing: The MLS (No. 5)

NBA rises to meet NFL.

MLB falls below the rising NHL.

Soccer still has ground to cover.

USA Soccer (USMNT) will disappoint in 2026 World Cup: Need Inner-City Kids

USA Soccer is absolutely failing in international competition on the men’s side of things. Some many people have come up with creative excuses for the reason why. The United States is top tier in almost every other sport in the world except the most popular game in the world. The most common excuse is the general lack of interest in the USA in professional soccer compared to the rest of the world. If that were true, the women’s national team (USWNT) wouldn’t be so great.

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People got mad at Hope Solo when she said youth soccer was a ‘rich white kid sport’. One demographic cannot produce most of our talent pool if we want to be great. The top players in the MLB, NFL, and NBA all come from different socio-economic backgrounds. Those leagues invest in inner-city communities where playing sports and getting quality training becomes an economic hardship.

If the US Men’s national team is ever going to have a legit shot at winning a World Cup they must find a way to diversify their “workforce”.

Am I Wrighster or am I Wrong?