When the World Cup arrived in the United States in 1994, Major League Soccer had not yet launched, and there was real uncertainty about whether the sport could truly take hold nationally. Now, with the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, the picture looks very different. The U.S. men’s national team still has plenty of ground to cover, but the broader soccer landscape has changed dramatically. Major stars such as Lionel Messi and Son Heung-Min are playing in MLS, the United Soccer League is preparing to introduce promotion and relegation, and fans across the country continue to show growing enthusiasm through strong attendance and rising television audiences. At this point, there is little doubt that soccer has established lasting roots in America.
MLS commissioner Don Garber shares that view, even in a year already marked by one of the league’s biggest announcements: a shift to a European-style calendar. And in his eyes, that is only part of what lies ahead for the nation’s top domestic league.
“The world hasn’t seen anything like what the World Cup will be in 2026. This is Super Bowls every day for well over a month, and I think that the world will see everything that we in the soccer ecosystem in North America know, that the game really matters here,” Garber said during his state of the league press conference in December.
“People care about it deeply, there’s a revolution going on where our sport is more popular than anybody ever believed, and that’s evidenced by what’s happening in our league, what’s happening in the women’s game, what’s happening in the different structures that are being built, and what’s happening in the communities that are hosting games, all the watch parties that will happen. We’d love to say that it’s the rocket fuel, but this jet has been running for 30 years, and it’s going to run for another 30.”
The impact of the World Cup
To understand how American soccer can keep building at this pace, it helps to look beyond the tournament itself and consider what the 2026 World Cup could leave behind. Unlike 1994, there is no brand-new league waiting in the wings, which makes the legacy question more layered this time. A strong run by the USMNT would certainly energize the moment, but that would say more about short-term momentum than lasting progress. National-team success can inspire future players, but so can something even more immediate: seeing the sport show up in local communities in a meaningful way.
That is part of why Algeria’s presence has emerged as one of the tournament’s early feel-good stories. The team has been based in Lawrence, Kansas, and during a community training session, players spent time on the field with local children. Experiences like that can stay with young fans for years and leave a real imprint on a city. It also highlights the value of spreading base camps beyond the 16 host venues, allowing teams to bring the World Cup experience directly into communities far from the match sites. Just ask the fans in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who turned out for a chance to catch a glimpse of Spain star Lamine Yamal.
And there is no telling how it could inspire, despite the hurdles that currently exist. High-level travel teams and some MLS academies require people to pay to play or travel quite long distances to get into soccer. There can be some financial assistance available at times, but when even Clint Dempsey briefly gave up playing youth soccer so that his parents could use that money elsewhere, it shows how fragile this system is.
If you are good enough, you are old enough is a famous quote from Manchester United’s Matt Busby, but in the United States, it can be shifted to, if you’re good enough and well off enough, you’re old enough, and that’s something that has to change. Soccer may not be able to surpass football and basketball to become America’s number one sport, but in a country of almost 350 million, it doesn’t need to be, as there’s plenty of talent to improve the youth setup if it’s accessible to them.
FIFA and U.S. Soccer’s role in accessibility
Speaking to U.S. Soccer, they recognize that pay-to-play is something that needs to be addressed, and via innovate to grow, there’s a plan in place to make soccer more accessible to all. That program was able to build a new center via funding from FIFA Forward. FIFA Forward is a program that reinvests money into member associations to increase the level of soccer while also using oversight to ensure that those funds are used properly.
With Haiti’s World Cup qualification, those funds were used to provide security and assistance with development. Cabo Verde and Curacao have used FIFA Forward funds to improve infrastructure in their countries, and it’s immediately showing results for the first-time qualifiers and returnees to the World Cup after lengthy absences. By the end of 2026, FIFA anticipates investing $5 billion into this program
“Even in the difficulties that some of them that they have to go through in the context of the country, for example Haiti, is unfortunatly going through a very difficult period as a country and it’s difficult to organize football at a domestic level on the island due to lack of security for the time being so there is a normalization committee that FIFA established which has done a tremendous job there in the way that they can, even sometimes being in Haiti with the risk that this entails but we focus with them on the national teams and the possibility to give these girls and boys places to train,” FIFA Director Member Associations Americas, Jair Bertoni said.
Sometimes they have to go abroad to safely do that, but these are the kinds of things that can make soccer accessible globally. Since it’s down to what each nation needs, in the United States, FIFA Forward support has helped U.S. Soccer grow innovations in their own markets, funding around 27 projects. And a goal that they do have is making it easier to play soccer because pay-to-play is a known issue in the country and hinders the ability to grow to the level of other countries.
“It’s a complex issue. It’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution for everyone. So, being able to channel funding to them to tailor solutions that really make sense for their communities and make sense for the underserved communities they’re trying to reach is one way,” Melissa Radke, director, member strategy at USSF, said. “And as U.S. Soccer, too, we recognize that there’s additional work to be done. We have some initiatives currently underway, working very closely with our membership, including the professional leagues, on just that. Looking at the different pathways that, that players have, whether they want to move into more competitive or pre-professional environments or stay recreational, whatever’s best for them and their development, and where they want to go in soccer. That’s certainly something that we’re looking at and working very closely with our members on right now, and as those analyses, um, and those efforts move forward, there’ll be more coming out from that.”
There have been improvements to the American coaching system, but this piece is what could be significant in changing the future of soccer in America with the World Cup here a second time around. If U.S. Soccer can capitalize on the inspiration that the 2026 World Cup will bring in America, the sky could be the limit for the next tournament in the United States and for the teams who represent this country.
