Deeply flawed and exclusionary underage system now costing US soccer when it counts

One radio host poring over the entrails of the United States’ disastrous World Cup campaign claimed the fields are too big for women and, to emphasise his knowledge of the game, asserted David Beckham was the greatest player in the history of the sport.

Further down the dial, another middle-aged bloviator explained that, although he stopped playing soccer in high school, he could still do better now than Megan Rapinoe et al. Thrilled to see the national team defeated on penalties by Sweden, the Trumpian half of the country went suitably berserk. The discourse, like the rest of the fallout, was toxic.

After going full Hunter Biden in their vilification of Rapinoe, explanations for why the holders were sent home early ranged from the demented to the ridiculous.

They lost because they were too “woke”. Because they were distracted by fighting their own federation for equal pay. Because they earn too much. Because they do too many commercials. Because they don’t care enough. Because they interact with the fans after drawing matches. Because they didn’t sing the national anthem. Because they are not true patriots. Unlike those jingoistic Americans who cheered so lustily for Sweden, a nation embodying all the liberal values the same people fear and despise.

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The real reasons the USA failed were obvious. The coach isn’t great, they were missing key players through injury, and carried too many (like the 39-year-old Rapinoe) who are obviously past their best.

Problems exacerbated by a faltering youth production line failed to bring forth quality replacements in sufficient numbers. The country hasn’t won a World Under-20 since 2012 and only reached the semis at that event once in the last decade. It has twice failed to even qualify for the Under-17 tournament in recent years. Contrast that with Spain’s recent success at that level. And then there is the enormous dollar sign in the room.

“I do feel like our pay-to-play model has to have some changes to it,” said Julie Foudy, twice a World Cup winner back in the 1990s, on her podcast last week.

“I’ve an ECNL kid, ECNL being the top level of soccer, and we are shelling out probably $30,000 easy a year, just expenses. How many families can do that? It’s crazy what the families are asked to do. And the impact of travelling on top of that.”

An astonishing quote in every way. For the amount of money involved and the fact Foudy, a hugely respected figure, somebody with genuine influence, proudly buys into a system she knows is deeply flawed and exclusionary.

One in three kids playing soccer here hail from a household with an annual income above $100,000 while just one in 10 are from homes earning less than $25,000. This may have been the most racially diverse American squad ever, yet more than half were educated at fee-paying private high schools, one was the daughter of a multimillionaire, and just two Hispanic women made the final 23.

If it remains a country club sport beyond the reach of the majority, Foudy has the clout in the media and the sport to effect real change. Not that it would be easy.

The United States Soccer Federation is a badly-run outfit that, up to 2020, located all the clubs in its now defunct Development Academy in areas of the country where median incomes were 60 per cent higher than the national average. Go where the money is rather than where the talent might be was the policy. The opposite of every other sporting nation on earth. Far from working-class ballet.

Aside from limiting the selection pool to a tiny, wealthy demographic, the pay-to-play model negatively affects the type of players produced. Youth coaches earn big money running elite travel teams so are under serious pressure to win. Every game.

Too many then sacrifice long-term development for short-term gain, trying to placate grasping parents who have invested way too much in their child’s sporting aspirations. This dysfunctional environment cultivates a needs-must attitude favouring the strongest and fastest kids. Consequently, America doesn’t produce many knacky, lock-picking midfield technicians.

None of this impacted as much when the USA was streets ahead of most nations, their inbuilt advantage a legacy of a progressive bill signed into law by president Richard Nixon on June 23rd, 1972. Title IX mandated that female students must be granted the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts, including extracurricular sport.

This, eventually, led to the boom in women’s collegiate soccer with participation rates growing from 1,855 players in 1982 to 28,000 in 2020. The foundation stone for America’s emergence as the pre-eminent nation in the distaff game in the 1990s, its universities attracted the best talent from all over the planet.

Not so much anymore. The rest of the world caught up, got the pros involved, and surpassed the Americans, the skill deficit the most obvious and growing measure of that. Not hard to figure out why.

The University of North Carolina women’s team recently posted a video on social media of a player breaking the squad bleep test record. An example of warped values.

At colleges and high schools across the country this month, martinet coaches are subjecting footballers to preseason endurance training more suited to cross-country runners. Outdated and outmoded, a culture where too many still prize fitness and strength over technique and touch. The national team reflects that. The failures will continue.