TheUnited States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to asU.S. Soccer, is a501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the officialgoverning body ofsoccer in the United States. It is a full member ofFIFA and governs American soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: themen's andwomen's national teams,Major League Soccer (MLS), theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL), youth organizations, as well as thebeach soccer,futsal,Paralympic, and deaf national teams. U.S. Soccer sanctionsreferees andsoccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States. It also administers and operates theU.S. Open Cup andSheBelieves Cup. U.S. Soccer is headquartered inChicago.

United States Soccer Federation

CONCACAF
Short name	USSF
Founded	April 5, 1913; 112 years ago (1913-04-05)[1]
Headquarters	303 E Wacker Drive Suite 1200 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
FIFA affiliation	August 2, 1913 (provisional) June 27, 1914 (full member)
CONCACAF affiliation	September 18, 1961 (original member)[2]
President	Cindy Cone
Website	ussoccer.com

U.S. Soccer was originally known as theUnited States Football Association. It formed on April 5, 1913, at theAstor House Hotel inLower Manhattan,^[3] and on August 15 of that year was accepted as one of the earliest member organizations of FIFA and the first from North and Central America. The affiliation was originally provisional^[4] but during FIFA Congress in Oslo, Norway on June 24, 1914, the USFA, as it was abbreviated at the time, was accepted as a full FIFA member.^[5] The governing body of the sport in the United States added the wordsoccer to its name in 1945, when it became theUnited States Soccer Football Association; by this point,football as a standalone word had come to define atotally different sport in the U.S. It dropped the wordfootball from its name in 1974 to become known as the United States Soccer Federation.^[6]

U.S. Soccer has hosted several global soccer tournaments, including the1994 FIFA World Cup, the1999 and2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, and theSummer Olympic football tournaments in1984 and1996.

Originally based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. Soccer headquarters were moved to Chicago in 1991 under the leadership of former Secretary General,Hank Steinbrecher^[7][8] Called U.S. Soccer House, it is currently located in two refurbished mansions at 1801 South Prairie Avenue in Chicago.^[9]

In 2003, U.S. Soccer opened its National Training Center atDignity Health Sports Park (then named Home Depot Center) inCarson, California. The $130 million facility includes asoccer-specific stadium, home to the MLS teamLos Angeles Galaxy. Additionally, four grass soccer fields, a FieldTurf soccer field, and a general training area are specifically dedicated to U.S. Soccer. Both the senior and youth men's and women's U.S. national teams hold regular camps at Dignity Health Sports Park.^[10]

U.S. Soccer was also exploring the possibility of building the National Training and Coaching Development Center inKansas City, Kansas.^[11] On April 9, 2015, the Development Center received final approval from the local governments. U.S. Soccer agreed to a 20-year lease, with the project set to break ground in 2016 and finishing some time in 2017.^[12][13]

In September 2023, U.S. Soccer announced they were moving from Chicago to a new headquarters and training center south ofAtlanta, which will be partially funded byArthur Blank, cofounder ofThe Home Depot and owner of the NFL’sAtlanta Falcons and MLS’sAtlanta United.^[14] In December 2023, U.S. Soccer announced they had chosen a site for the new national training center inFayette County, Georgia. The 200-acre (81 ha) site is scheduled to be developed and opened before the2026 FIFA World Cup; it is in the same metropolitan area as the headquarters ofCoca-Cola, one of the founding partners for the training center.^[15] The new training center will be named after Arthur Blank to honor his involvement in the move.There are currently temporary offices for U.S. Soccer in Fayette County at Town Trilith whereTrilith Studios is located.

U.S. Soccer is governed by a board of directors that administers the affairs of U.S. Soccer.^[16]Cindy Parlow Cone, former 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup champion and long-time U.S. Soccer administrator, became president in March 2020 following the resignation ofCarlos Cordeiro.^[17] JT Batson was named chief executive officer and secretary general in September 2022.^[18]

U.S. Soccer members are individuals and affiliate organizations. The national council is the representative membership body of the federation. It elects the president and vice president, amends the bylaws, approves the budgets, decides on policies adopted by the board, and affirms actions of the Board.^{[citation needed]} The non-profit organization is a member of the worldwide soccer bodyFIFA and the North American soccer bodyCONCACAF, and also has a relationship with theU.S. Olympic Committee and theInternational Olympic Committee.^[19]

The federation convenes an annual meeting, usually held in February. Every four years, the annual meeting's attendees hold an election for the federation's president and vice president.^[20]

USSF recognizes the following members:^[21]

• Major League Soccer (MLS)
• National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
• United Soccer League (USL)
• National Independent Soccer Association (NISA)

• United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA)
• United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA)

• United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA)
• United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer)
• American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO)
• US Club Soccer
• Soccer Association for Youth (SAY)

• American Amputee Soccer Association
• Armed Forces Sports Council
• United Soccer Coaches
• United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA)
• U.S. Soccer Foundation
• United States Futsal Federation
• United States Specialty Sports Association
• United States of America Deaf Soccer Association (USA Deaf Soccer)

The United States men's national team was assembled in 1885 to playCanada in the first international match held outside the United Kingdom.^[22] The team was invited to the inaugural FIFA World Cup in1930 and qualified for the World Cup in1934, finishing third place (semifinals) in 1930 out of 13 teams participating. In1950 the United States scored one of its most surprising victories with a1–0 win over heavily favoredEngland, who were amongst the world's best sides at the time. The United States did not reach another World Cup until an upstart team qualified for the1990 World Cup with the "goal heard around the world" scored byPaul Caligiuri againstTrinidad and Tobago, which started the modern era of soccer in the United States.

The United States hosted the1994 FIFA World Cup, setting total and average attendance records that still stand, including drawing 94,194 fans to thefinal.^[23] The United States made a surprising run to the second round in 1994, but finished last among the 32 teams in the1998 World Cup. The tournament was marred by poor team chemistry and leadership, which led head coachSteve Sampson to resign.^[24] Sampson was replaced byBruce Arena, a two-timeMLS Cup winner withD.C. United, in 1998.^[25] Arena led a mix of veterans and youth players to a quarterfinal appearance in the2002 World Cup, defeating rivalsMexico in the Round of 16 before losing to eventual runners-upGermany.^[26][27]

At the2006 edition of the tournament, the U.S. failed to qualify for the knockout round with two losses and a draw in the group stage.^[28] Arena's contract was not renewed following the tournament; former assistantBob Bradley was hired as head coach in 2007.^[29] The U.S. qualified for the2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa by winning theCONCACAF qualifying tournament.^[30] At the World Cup, the Americans were undefeated in the group stage but were eliminated in the round of 16 by a loss toGhana. Bradley was dismissed following the2011 Gold Cup, which the United States lost 4–2 to Mexico in the final.^[31]

The U.S. entered the2014 FIFA World Cup underJürgen Klinsmann, who had led Germany to third place in the 2006 World Cup and had lived in the United States for several years. Klinsmann recruited dual national players, particularly Germans with American heritage, and favored youth in his rosters; this included his exclusion ofLandon Donovan from the World Cup roster.^[32] The U.S. finished second in the "Group of Death" (eventual champion Germany,Ghana, andPortugal) and advanced to the round of 16, where they lost toBelgium in extra time after goalkeeperTim Howard's 16 saves set a World Cup record.^[32][33] Klinsmann was retained as head coach for the2018 World Cup qualifying cycle, but was fired in November 2016 after the team had lost the opening two matches of thefinal qualifying round.^[34] Bruce Arena was hired to replace Klinsmann, but the United States finished fifth and were unable to qualify for the2018 FIFA World Cup. It was the first time the U.S. had failed to qualify for the World Cup since1986.^[35]

Arena resigned following the qualification campaign and was replaced byDave Sarachan, who was the interim coach during the search for a permanent head coach. Sarachan's year-long tenure included the introduction of several young players to replace veterans who had resigned following the 2018 qualification cycle.^[36]Columbus Crew coachGregg Berhalter was selected and hired as head coach in December 2018; his rosters rely mostly on younger players who had played in MLS academies or were developed by teams in Europe. During qualification for the2022 FIFA World Cup, the United States had rosters with an average age of under 24 years old; the team finished 7–3–4 during the final round and qualified for the World Cup.^[37] Berhalter used the second-youngest roster at the World Cup with onlyDeAndre Yedlin retained from a previous World Cup team. The United States finished second in their group with a win againstIran and ties withEngland andWales. The team were eliminated in the round of 16 by theNetherlands.^[38]

Berhalter's contract was renewed in June 2023 following an investigation by U.S. Soccer into allegations of domestic abuse from a 1991 incident. During his absence from the team, two assistant coaches served as interim coaches.^[39][40]B.J. Callaghan, the second interim coach, led the United States to a secondCONCACAF Nations League title but failed to reach the final of the2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.^[41][42] Berhalter was fired in July 2024 following the team's group-stage exit at the2024 Copa América and replaced in September 2024 byMauricio Pochettino, an Argentinian manager with experience in European leagues.^[43]

The United States will co-host the2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico after theirjoint bid was selected over Morocco by FIFA in 2018. The tournament will be the first World Cup to feature 48 teams.^[44] The United States will also host the2024 Copa América, the championship of South American teams; it will be the second Copa América to be played in the United States following theCopa América Centenario in 2016.^[45] The United States did not automatically qualify as hosts,^[46] but earned a spot through their performance in the2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League.^[45]

Having won fourFIFA Women's World Cup tournaments—1991,1999,2015, and2019—the United States is considered the most successful in international women's soccer. The team finished second in2011 and third in1995,2003, and2007. It has wonOlympic gold medals at the 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympics.^[47] In addition, it has won ten titles at theAlgarve Cup and nine at theCONCACAF Women's Championship, the qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women's World Cup.^[48][49][50]

The inauguralFIFA Women's World Cup was held in1991 in China. The U.S. women's national team was the first team to win the prize after beatingNorway in the final.^[51]

In 1999, the United States hosted theFIFA Women's World Cup for the first time. During their tournament run, the women's national team established a new level of popularity for the women's game, culminating in a final againstChina that drew 90,185 fans, an all-time attendance record for a women's sports event, to a sold-outRose Bowl. After neither team scored in regulation or extra time, the final went to apenalty shootout, which the United States won 5–4. Thecelebration byBrandi Chastain after she converted the winning penalty, in which she took off her shirt, is one of the more famous images in U.S. women's sports.

U.S. Soccer Federation oversees and promotes the development of 14 youth national teams:^[52]

• U.S. Under-23 Men
• U.S. Under-23 Women
• U.S. Under-20 Men
• U.S. Under-20 Women
• U.S. Under-19 Men
• U.S. Under-19 Women
• U.S. Under-18 Men
• U.S. Under-18 Women
• U.S. Under-17 Men
• U.S. Under-17 Women
• U.S. Under-16 Boys
• U.S. Under-16 Girls
• U.S. Under-15 Boys
• U.S. Under-15 Girls

U.S. Soccer Federation had ceased operations on its youth national team programming except for the U-23, U-20, and U-17 teams on the men's side and the U-20 and U-17 teams on the women's side due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in April 2020.^[53][54]

As of March 2023, U.S. Soccer Federation supervises nine extended national teams across the disciplines ofbeach soccer,CP soccer,deaf soccer,futsal, andpower soccer.^[55]

As of May 29, 2025^[52]

As of August 18, 2021^[82]

Referee programs staff

Referee development staff

Despite the growth of men's and women's professional soccer in the United States in the last few decades, by far the largest category of soccer in the United States, at least in terms of participation, is youth soccer.^{[citation needed]} Though organized locally by organizations all over the United States, there are two main youth soccer organizations working nationwide through affiliated local associations. TheUnited States Youth Soccer Association boasts over three million players between the ages of five and 19, whileAmerican Youth Soccer Organization has more than 300,000 players between the ages of four and 19. This makes soccer one of the most played sports by children in the United States.^[83]

The professional first-division league in North America isMajor League Soccer, which as of the 2025 season has 27 teams in the U.S. and 3 in Canada. The league began an aggressive expansion in 2017, with the goal of adding at least eight clubs. That effort has resulted in the addition of the following ten clubs:Atlanta United FC (2017),Minnesota United FC (2017),Los Angeles FC (2018),FC Cincinnati (2019),Inter Miami CF (2020),Nashville SC (2020),Austin FC (2021),Charlotte FC (2022),St. Louis City SC (2023), andSan Diego FC (2025). The league operates as a single-entity league, which means MLS, and not the individual teams, holds the contracts on players.^[84]

The one sanctioned second-division men's outdoor soccer league is theUSL Championship (USLC). Previously, the secondNorth American Soccer League had second-division status, sharing it with the USL in the 2017 season, but the NASL was denied second-division sanctioning for 2018 due to considerable instability in the league;^[85] the league effectively folded at that time.

The USLC was sanctioned as the United States' lone Division II men's outdoor soccer league in 2018. Formed in 2010 as a result of the merger of the formerUSL First Division andUSL Second Division, the USL Championship was sanctioned as Division III league from 2011 to 2016 before becoming provisionally sanctioned as a Division II league for 2017,^[86] and receiving full Division II sanctioning in 2018.^[87]

The USL Championship has expanded almost threefold since its first season in 2011 to include 35 teams in the 2020 season, with the league divided into two conferences, Eastern and Western. The USLC is the world's largest Division II professional league by number of teams. Since 2014, the valuation of USL Championship clubs has increased fivefold. In revenue, 2018 Championship clubs saw a 28% increase over 2017 numbers on an average of ticketing, sponsorship, merchandise, and ancillary revenue generation.^{[citation needed]}

The USLC also holds a broadcast agreement with ESPN that sees 20 regular season games televised nationally on ESPN2, ESPNews and ESPN Deportes^[88] in addition to national broadcast of the USL Championship Final, which in 2019 was aired on both ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. The league's remaining regular season games are broadcast nationally on ESPN+, with 22 of the Championship's clubs also holding local broadcast agreements. The USL Championship's broadcast agreement was made possible in large part by a major investment by USL with league technology partner Vista Worldlink^[89] to establish a USL Broadcast Center out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.^[90]

The second NASL had no official tie to theformer NASL that operated from 1968 to 1984, although some of the teams shared names with their historic counterparts. Unlike MLS, which is a single-entity operation, the second NASL, like the old NASL, had no salary cap, and players were contracted by the individual teams.^[91] The season was a split format (similar to that ofmany leagues in Latin America) that features seven teams, including onePuerto Rican team. Previous to the reorganization of the NASL in 2009, theUSL First Division operated as the professional second-division league in the United States. However, a dispute among its teams and ownership led to the creation of the NASL, which was awarded second division status by the USSF. The 2010 season was played as a combined USL/NASL league format before the NASL officially separated in 2011.^[92]

USL League One is sanctioned at the Men's Division III level. In March 2017,United Soccer League, administrator of the USL Championship andUSL League Two,announced following the successful sanctioning of the USL Championship as a Division II league it would start a new tier in its professional structure, which becameUSL League One, and seek Division III certification for the 2019 season.^[93] The league received sanctioning in December 2018 and conducted a successful first season in 2019 that saw 10 teams compete in a single-table format and North Texas SC claim its inaugural league title. The seven independent clubs averaged 2,496 fans per match in 2019, placing League One in the top three of Division III leagues globally, and the league has expanded to include 12 teams for its second season in 2020, with further expansion expected before the 2021 season.

National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), led by formerChicago Fire general managerPeter Wilt plans on fielding 8–10 teams in 2018 and has stated that it will seek third-division certification.^[94]

A fourth-division league in the United States is the USL League Two, which, as of 2015, is expected to have 58 U.S. teams and six Canadian teams. Though League Two does have some paid players, it also has many teams that are made up entirely or almost entirely ofcollege soccer players who use the league as an opportunity to play competitive soccer in front of professional scouts during the summer, while retaining amateur status and NCAA eligibility. Other fourth-division leagues in the United States are theUnited Premier Soccer League,National Premier Soccer League andLigas Unidas.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to MLS and the USL, theUnited States Adult Soccer Association governs amateur soccer competition for adults throughout the United States, which is effectively the amateur fifth division of soccer in the United States. The USASA sanctions regional tournaments that allow entry into theU.S. Open Cup, the oldest continuous national soccer competition in the United States. Since 1914, the competition has been open to all U.S. Soccer affiliated clubs, and currently pits teams from all five levels of theAmerican soccer pyramid against each other each year, similarly to England'sFA Cup.^[95]

TheNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is the professional, top-division league in North America and as of 2024, is composed of 14 teams based in the U.S.^[96] Two professional, top-division leagues preceded the NWSL: theWomen's United Soccer Association (WUSA), which featured many players from the 1999 FIFA Women's Cup-winning team (as well as other national teams), ran from 2001 to 2003 andWomen's Professional Soccer (WPS) ran from 2009 to 2011.^[97]

Two second-division leagues currently exist:United Women's Soccer began play in May 2016 and as of 2020 features 30 teams in five conferences^[98] and theWomen's Premier Soccer League (WPSL), started in 1997, features over 115 teams across the United States and Canada (the largest women's soccer league in the world as of 2020).^[99] Previously, theUSL W-League was a semi-professional league that ran from 1995 to 2015 and featured a mix of college students and international players.^[100]

On November 21, 2012, U.S. Soccer, in conjunction with theCanadian Soccer Association (CSA) andMexican Football Federation (FMF), announced the formation of a new professional league for the 2013 season.^[101] The league, unnamed at the time of the initial announcement but later unveiled as theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL), launched in April 2013 with eight teams.^[101] Like WUSA and WPS, NWSL teams are privately owned, with some owned by existingMLS teams.^[102] The American and Canadian federations pay the salaries for many of their respective national team members. U.S. Soccer initially committed to funding up to 24 national team members, with the CSA committing to paying 16 players and FMF pledging support for at least 12 and possibly as many as 16.^[102][103] In addition, U.S. Soccer housed the league's front office for the first four years, and scheduled matches to avoid any possible conflict with international tournaments.^[102] Four of the league's charter teams had WPS ties—theBoston Breakers,Chicago Red Stars,Sky Blue FC, and theWestern New York Flash. The other four initial teams were located in theKansas City,Portland,Seattle, andWashington, D.C. markets with the Portland team run by thePortland Timbers of MLS.^[102] The NWSL expanded to nine teams for 2014 by adding theHouston Dash, run by theHouston Dynamo of MLS. In 2016, it expanded to 10 with the addition of another MLS-backed team, theOrlando Pride. Ahead of the 2017 season,A&E Networks announced it had taken an equity stake in the league andLifetime would begin broadcasting games to a national television audience.^[104] As of 2017^[update], additional expansion teams were being discussed byLos Angeles FC,Vancouver Whitecaps FC, andFC Barcelona,^{[105][106][107]} but none of these have yet materialized.

Several league changes occurred in advance of the 2017 season. First, FMF and U.S. Soccer amicably ended their partnership following FMF's establishment of its own women's professional league,Liga MX Femenil. The Western New York Flash ceased fully professional operations (though retaining its youth and, for a time, semi-pro operations), selling its NWSL franchise rights toSteve Malik, owner of then-NASL and current USLC sideNorth Carolina FC. Malik relocated the NWSL team to NCFC's home of theResearch Triangle and rebranded it as theNorth Carolina Courage. Both the Boston Breakers and FC Kansas City folded, with FCKC's player contracts transferred toUtah Royals FC, a new side owned and operated byReal Salt Lake.

The Seattle franchise went through two major changes in subsequent years. First, the team moved from Seattle toTacoma and rebranded as Reign FC before the 2019 season. Then, in January 2020, the team was purchased by the parent company of FrenchLigue 1 powerOlympique Lyonnais and rebranded again as OL Reign.

The league's next expansion was announced in November 2019, with aLouisville franchise granted to the ownership group of USLC sideLouisville City FC, The Louisville side, which began play asRacing Louisville FC in 2021, is the first NWSL team whose entry into the league was announced more than 5 months before it started play.

The second professional league,Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), was founded in 2009. The inaugural season champion wasSky Blue FC, based in the New York–New Jersey area. The team defeated theLos Angeles Sol 1–0 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The WPS launched with seven teams, all based in the United States. The Sol folded after the league's inaugural season, and two new teams joined for 2010, bringing WPS to eight teams. However, the 2010 season saw considerable instability, with another charter team,Saint Louis Athletica, folding during the season, championsFC Gold Pride folding after the season, and theChicago Red Stars deciding to regroup in the second-tierWomen's Premier Soccer League (WPSL). The 2011 season, in which six teams based along theEast Coast played, was marked by low attendance for most of the season and conflict withDan Borislow, who had purchased the formerWashington Freedom, moved the team toSouth Florida, and renamed itmagicJack. The dispute between WPS and Borislow led the league to suspend the magicJack franchise, with Borislow responding by suing. The legal battle led WPS to suspend its 2012 season, with hopes of returning in 2013, but WPS soon decided to fold completely.

TheWomen's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was founded in 2001. Headlined by the stars of the1999 FIFA Women's World Cup-winning team, $30 million was initially invested by numerous cable TV networks and owners.^[108] The league's inaugural match was held between theWashington Freedom featuringMia Hamm and theBay Area CyberRays (featuringBrandi Chastain) atRFK Stadium inWashington, D.C. In addition to the 34,148 fans in attendance being greater than anyMLS game that weekend, theTurner Network Television (TNT) broadcast reached 393,087 households: more than two MLS games broadcast onESPN andESPN2.^[109] The league folded in 2003.

United Women's Soccer (UWS) began play in May 2016 and as of 2020 features 30 teams in five conferences across the United States.^[98]

Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL), started in 1997, features over 115 teams across the United States and Canada (the largest women's soccer league in the world as of 2020).^[99]

TheUSL W-League was a semi-professional league that ran from 1995 to 2015 and featured a mix of college students and international players.^[100] A second pre-professional league named theUSL W League began play in May 2022 with 44 teams organized into seven regional divisions.^[110]

USL also plans to launch a professional league, theUSL Super League, in 2024 with an application for first-division sanctioning.^[111]

In 2014, parents and former players filed a class action lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation,FIFA, and other soccer organizations for failure to create policies that would prevent, evaluate, and manageconcussion injuries.^[112] Soccer is second only to American football in the number of concussion injuries per year.^[113]

The USSF has been accused by representatives of theNorth American Soccer League, among others, of unfairly protecting MLS's leading role in American professional soccer. Among their concerns is that the USSF benefits from financial dealings with MLS that it does not have with other leagues, giving it an apparent incentive to protect MLS from competition.^[114] This includes the contract that the USSF has with MLS'sSoccer United Marketing (SUM) subsidiary in which most USSF sponsorship, television licensing and royalty revenues (outside of its apparel deal withNike, Inc.) are paid through SUM. The USSF reported $15,433,754 in revenues through the SUM relationship in its 2014 audited financial report.^[115]

In 2015, the NASL took issue with proposed USSF rule changes reportedly making it harder to gain co-equal "Division 1" status with MLS that would increase the NASL's influence within the USSF as well as presumably allow more access to international competition and larger media and sponsorship contracts, calling the draft proposal "...an anti-competitive bait and switch, to entrench MLS's monopoly position at the very time when the NASL is threatening to become a significant competitor."^[116] Seats on the USSF's Professional Council governing committee are also based proportionally on pyramid level, giving MLS more votes when choosing the two professional league representatives on the USSF's board of directors. In 2015, those representatives were MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Alec Papadakis, CEO of theUnited Soccer League, who announced an affiliation with MLS in 2015.

High-profile international soccer figures including former USMNT Head CoachJürgen Klinsmann,^[117] formerLA Galaxy head coach and USMNT Head CoachBruce Arena^[118] andManchester City coach and formerFIFA World Coach of the YearPep Guardiola,^[119] have expressed beliefs that the top-down structure of soccer developed and managed by the USSF in the United States, including pressure to have the best American players in MLS rather than higher-quality leagues in other countries, is hampering the nation's competitiveness in international soccer.

Conversely, Klinsmann has been criticized in turn by MLS representatives for recommending that American players leave MLS development systems to pursue professional careers in Europe in order to test themselves against higher levels of players in preparation for international competition. In 2015, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said, "I do believe our national team coach has a short-term objective. That's what he's hired to do. That doesn't mean next week, but it's to win the Gold Cup, it's to have the best possible team in 2018. And our goals and objectives are broader than that, and that's why we agree on some things but don't agree on others."^[120]

On March 8, 2019, all members of theU.S. women's national team collectively filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation in a district court in Los Angeles. The lawsuit was filed due to claims that the athletes were being treated differently based on gender, affecting their paychecks, the facilities they were offered, and even the medical treatment they received.^[121] Women on the team have previously filed complaints about pay disparity, including in 2016 when five members of the women's team filed a complaint with theEqual Employment Opportunity Commission.^[122][123]

On May 1, 2020, the district court dismissed the team's unequal and discriminatory pay claim, however, preserving the players' claims about unequal treatment in areas like travel, hotel accommodations, and team staffing. A trial on those issues is scheduled to begin June 16.^[124]

JudgeR. Gary Klausner of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California, granted the federation's motion forsummary judgment. In his ruling, he dismissed the players' arguments that they were systematically underpaid by U.S. Soccer in comparison with the men's national team. According to Klausner, U.S. Soccer had substantiated its argument that the women's team had actually earned more "on both a cumulative and an average per-game basis" than the men's team during the years at issue in the lawsuit.^[125]

On February 22, 2022, the U.S. Soccer Federation agreed to settle the lawsuit for $24 million, with a proposed $22 million going to the players in the case and an additional $2 million to benefit USWNT players' post-career goals and also charitable efforts related to women's soccer. The settlement also requires both male and female soccer players to paid equally for friendlies, and tournaments including the World Cup.^[126][127]

U.S. Soccer became the first national governing body for the sport in the world to equalize World Cup prize money for its men's and women's teams. FIFA still distributes significantly more funds to its member associations for the men's event.^[128]

On July 17, 2012, in the wake of announced anti-corruption reforms bySepp Blatter, the president of the worldsoccergoverning bodyFIFA,^[129] the organization appointed U.S. lawyerMichael J. Garcia as the chairman of the investigative chamber ofFIFA Ethics Committee, while German judgeHans-Joachim Eckert was appointed as the chairman of the Ethics Committee'sadjudication chamber.^[130]

In August 2012, Garcia declared his intention to investigate the bidding process and decision to respectively award the right to host the 2018 and 2022FIFA World Cup toRussia andQatar by theFIFA Executive Committee.^[131] Garcia delivered his subsequent 350-page report in September 2014, and Eckert then announced that it would not be made public for legal reasons.^[132]

On November 13, 2014, Eckert released a 42-page summary of his findings after reviewing Garcia's report. The summary cleared both Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing during the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups,^[133] leaving Russia and Qatar free to stage their respective World Cups.^[134]

FIFA welcomed "the fact that a degree of closure has been reached," while theAssociated Press wrote that the Eckert summary "was denounced by critics as awhitewash."^[134] Hours after the Eckert summary was released, Garcia himself criticized it for being "materially incomplete" with "erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions," while declaring his intention to appeal to FIFA's Appeal Committee.^[133] On December 16, 2014, FIFA's Appeal Committee dismissed Garcia's appeal against the Eckert summary as "not admissible." FIFA also stated that Eckert's summary was "neither legally binding nor appealable."^[135] A day later, Garcia resigned from his role as FIFA ethics investigator in protest of FIFA's conduct, citing a "lack of leadership" and lost confidence in the independence of Eckert from FIFA.^[136]

In June 2015, Swiss authorities claimed the report was of "little value".^[137]

On October 3, 2022, the U.S. Soccer Federation publicly released the 173-pageYates Report, officially titledReport of the Independent Investigation to the U.S. Soccer Federation Concerning Allegations of Abusive Behavior and Sexual Misconduct in Women's Professional Soccer, the official report documenting the findings and conclusions concerning abusive behavior andsexual misconduct in women's professional soccer. The report is named forSally Yates, the lawyer who led the investigation, a former ActingUnited States Attorney General.^[138]

As of March 8, 2024^{[update][139]}

United States Soccer Football Association (until 1974)

United States Soccer Federation (1974–present)

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