US Soccer CEO JT Batson on the FIFA World Cup: ‘Sustained Success'

Sports has the power to create memory markers in life; you'll never forget that first game you saw or when your favorite team finally managed to win the big one. And, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicking off, U.S. Soccer Federation CEO and Secretary-General JT Batson still remembers his first days on the soccer pitch.

"My earliest memory was playing at the YMCA where I grew up in Augusta, Georgia," Batson told Newsweek during an interview for the Newsmakers Impact series.

"I remember the really hot jerseys. Jersey technology, let’s say, was not very sophisticated back then. And growing up in Augusta, Georgia, it was hot. And I also remember that our parents all grew up playing baseball or football or watching basketball, whatever it was. Nobody knew soccer when we were young. And so there was a whole lot of boot it and a whole lot of running around chasing the ball. But fortunately, Augusta College, which has become Augusta University, had a soccer team. And we had a lot of players who came in from around the world, who went there for school and stayed, and they became our coaches. And so we were exposed to, let’s call it real soccer."

That's more than a light-hearted anecdote. It also proved to be a foundation for Batson and the work he does today.

"I grew up playing baseball, basketball, tennis, golf," he explained. "The reason I stuck with soccer is one, I had better coaches. Two, I found it more fun, and that’s what my friends are playing. That impact of those coaches was unbelievable, and it’s something that I certainly never forget."

A World Class Opportunity

It goes without saying that any conversation about American soccer comes against the background of the country co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico. On-field performance in that tournament obviously does matter-Batson listed "making sure our men’s team is in the best position to succeed" as one of U.S. Soccer's three priorities for this summer-but there's another focus that connects back to those early experiences in Augusta.

"We’re very focused on making sure this World Cup is a catalyst toward tens of millions of more Americans getting to play our sport," Batson added.

Part of soccer's appeal and status as "the Beautiful Game," is that you don't need much to play; a pickup game really just requires a ball and even that can be improvised if the situation calls for it. In the United States, though, other sports have generally taken ownership of both public spaces and people's minds.

"When we think of great athletes who’ve come from communities that have not had all advantages, you often think of basketball. And imagine yourself going by your local neighborhood park or any park you can think of. What does almost every park have? A basketball hoop," Batson said. "And it’s no surprise that when a sport is super accessible, more kids play it. And so a huge focus for us through the Soccer Forward Foundation is our Soccer at Schools initiative. So we partner with Bank of America to bring soccer to every school in the United States over the coming years. We’ve had some incredible early success with that, as well as our Places to Play initiative, which is around how do we make sure that every kid can walk, ride their bike or take public transit to a safe place to play soccer?"

"We’re sitting here in New York City, and, you know…when people think of soccer, they think of beautiful fields out in the suburbs. [But] For soccer to be everywhere, we have to truly be everywhere. We need it to where you’re playing on a black top surface, you’re on an old tennis court, you are playing in a high school gym, as well as, of course, you’re playing on more fields. Of course we need more fields, but for us to be successful, we have to be where kids are and we also have to use big events like this summer. To inspire kids to say, ‘Hey, that’s the sport for me.’ And one thing that is really exciting is when you look at our men’s national team, and now when you look at our women’s national team, it looks like America. Everyone can see themselves in our teams. Well, it was not always the case, but soccer has grown. Our teams have continued down the journey of looking like the best of America, which we’re very proud of."

And while there might not necessarily be formal coaches when kids are playing in parks and schoolyards, that guidance is a part of helping to support the generation. Just think back to Batson's earliest days in soccer and those who helped spark his love of the game.

"Coaching is so important to us at U.S. Soccer," he added. "A lot of folks don’t know that we’re responsible for coaching education for every coach…in America. And whether you’re a coach who wants to coach professionally or you’re parent just starting out, you can go to ussoccer.com and sign up for coaching educational. We have digital offerings for those who are just getting started and then we have very extensive in-person opportunities for those who want to make it a profession. We see this as a huge opportunity going forward, we’re investing record sums in this and we frankly need to invest even more. And, you know, that’s something that we’re really committed to because we know that if we’re going to achieve our soccer goals of soccer being everywhere, everyone feeling part of our sport and ultimately winning, we know we need more great coaches."

Access and Affordability

One of the major threads around the 2026 World Cup has been access and affordability. From ticket prices to transportation costs, there has been plenty of criticism aimed at the organizers for ignoring the average fan.

But, even beyond that, it's simply a numbers game. Even if the stadiums were filled with only the most passionate supporters, there is finite capacity; someone would be left outside.

"We’re [focused on] making sure every American can feel part of this World Cup this summer. We know that there are tens of millions, probably over 100 million soccer fans in this country, who won’t be able to go to games," Batson said. "So how do they participate in FanFest? How do they participate in their communities all across the country?"

That can take the form of working with local governments-some cities have allowed bars to stay open later, for example-or more intentional events, but the aim is to connect fans to the World Cup and the United States men’s soccer team (USMNT) without the need for a ticket lottery and a major expense.

Batson explained that "99.9% of the people who follow the World Cup are always going to be watching on television, by virtue of the billions of people around the world who care about this competition and who love this sport. And so we’ve been very focused on, how do we ensure that our fans, whether they’re in a host city where they want to be a part of the action or they’re in communities all across this country, can truly feel part of this tournament?”

"That started for us with the launch of our new jerseys…with Nike, which have been a huge success. We’ve set records in terms of sales, we’ve set [a] record in terms the number of stores where you can buy our jerseys, but what’s exciting to me is…whether it’s our official jersey or it’s a T-shirt, or whether it scarf or whether it’s Legos for your kids and everything in between, there can be all sorts of ways for our fans to be able to participate."

And, once again, Batson has a personal memory that can guide that current effort.

"When I first saw the World Cup in 1990, I was watching in my friend’s living room and you were with your friends, you were with your family," he recalled. "And so [it’s about] really sort of making sure that we keep what’s special about this game, which is around bringing people together and doing that in your local communities in a way that is authentic and is generational in terms of what its impact is."

Producing on the Pitch

But when we're talking about U.S. Soccer ahead of a World Cup, let alone one on home soil, it's not enough to simply show up. Results undeniably do matter.

"When we talk about our three big goals for U.S. Soccer, there’s a reason why soccer success is first. We believe winning matters, and winning in soccer ultimately means winning World Cups. You know, we’ve done that four times on the women’s side; hope to do it a fifth next summer in Brazil. But we have to do that across all of our national teams," Batson explained.

"While we’re, of course, putting our men’s team in the best position to succeed in the short term, we also are making the investments and the things we need to ensure that our men’s teams as well as our other teams are succeeding short, medium and long term. And that requires more people playing, that requires better pathways, that requires better infrastructure."

Speaking to that goal of on-field success, Batson was also involved in the hiring of Mauricio Pochettino and Emma Hayes, who coach the men's and women's national teams respectively. Those two decisions sum up the organizational thinking at U.S. Soccer.

"Emma and Mauricio are two of the best coaches in the world, two of best people I’ve ever met. And in addition to Emma and Mauricio, they have great staffs," Batson explained. "Their ability to lead the teams…and to inspire the current group of players, as well as future groups of players, to want to compete for the badge, to want represent their country, is really second to none.

"The other thing is Emma and Maurizio, of course, know that the job is to win. They’re also committed to the long-term success of U.S. soccer and everyone who cares about this sport. And to have two people who are so respected around the world, who’ve been so successful, believe in the importance of youth development, believe in the importance of coaching education, believe in our youth national teams, believe in our extended national teams and our disability national teams. And making sure our organization is set up for success is something that’s pretty special."

Defining Success

With all of that being said, what does success this summer mean for U.S. Soccer? Batson had some clear ideas.

"The success on the field is going to be, do tens of millions of Americans believe in this team? Are they proud of their performance? Do they feel connected to this group and want to will them to success? I think we have a very sophisticated fan base and they’re going to be very proud of this team, and this team’s going to do them right," Batson said.

"Of course, this is going to set all sorts of attendance records. It’s going to be a huge party. That part’s going be a big success. And for us, in addition to, of course, our on-the-field performance, the impact this World Cup’s going have over the next five to 10 years is really where the legacy is going be felt. And we know that it’s going to lead to tens of millions of more people playing this sport. We know it’s going to lead to continued investment in our game, and we know it is going to lead to sustained success. Whether it’s our national teams or whether it’s more and more kids being able to play, that’s going to be the impact of this World Cup."

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 2:00 AM.