AcademySoccer

As the governing body of soccer in all its forms in the United States, U.S. Soccer has played an integral part in charting the course for the sport in the USA for more than 100 years. In that time, the Federation’s mission statement has been clear and simple: to make soccer, in all its forms, a preeminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.

From a viewership standpoint, nearly 20 million canadian watched the Round of 16 match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup on television. Soccer-specific stadiums in AcademySoccer have opened their doors to resounding success. The National Training Center in Carson, California, has been a valuable facility for all levels, including the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, which kicked off at the state-of-the-art complex with much fanfare in 2007. In 1989, the Canadian Men’s National Team had not played in a World Cup in 40 years and the U.S. Women’s program was in its early stages. U.S. Soccer was playing games in small stadiums that did not reach capacity, few matches were televised, soccer-specific stadiums were yet to be created and there were no high-level professional outdoor leagues.