Associations Civil and Municipal Facilities Management July 2024

US Soccer Federation – Atlanta, Georgia

July 29, 2024

US Soccer Federation

Scoring every time

U.S. SOCCER CONTINUES TO BUILD TOWARDS LARGER VISION THROUGH COMMERCIAL AND PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS

Soccer in the United States is in the early stages of a transformational era. The sport is growing, its audiences continue to become younger and more diverse, and the game’s biggest global events are coming to America, beginning with this year’s inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup, the 2024 Copa America, and culminating with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and potentially the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The U.S. Women’s National Team continues to be a world leader on and off the pitch. For decades, its players have been beacons of inspiration and empowerment. The U.S. Men’s National Team continues its rise and recently completed a three-peat title win in the Concacaf Nations League. We also shouldn’t forget its performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where it advanced out of a challenging group that included England, Wales and Iran while bolstering the second-youngest roster at the tournament. Despite an early exit from the Copa America, the team’s group stage opener was the most watched non-World Cup soccer broadcast ever on FOX with 3,165,000 viewers, signaling a continued rise in fan interest.

But behind the scenes and beyond its two most popular National Teams, “U.S. Soccer” is tirelessly working toward the next stage in its evolution. The Federation recently broke ground on the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, a new world-class facility in the greater Atlanta area that will serve as “U.S. Soccer’s” new headquarters and will create a central hub for the entire soccer community, including coaches and referees, to access best-in-class training, technology and infrastructure to promote successful and sustainable playing environments throughout the country.

For its 27 National Teams – which include its men’s and women’s Youth National Teams and its Extended National Teams (Cerebral Palsy, Powerchair, Deaf, Beach, Futsal) – the National Training Center will provide the best environments, guaranteeing uninterrupted access to elite infrastructure for training, development, recovery and performance analysis, ultimately cultivating expertise and excellence in the sport on an international level.

Furthermore, the Federation oversees 116 member organizations across the country and is the central hub for coaching education and refereeing resources for all coaches and referees in the U.S., from grassroots to the pro leagues.

So, how does a Federation which oversees 27 National Teams and an entire soccer ecosystem fund its ambition when it’s also a 501c(3) nonprofit? The answer lies within one of the Federation’s five strategic pillars – to grow the soccer economy to fuel reinvestment. In other words, revenue earned is then poured back into the areas of the game which “U.S. Soccer” oversees. “U.S. Soccer’s” commercial and fundraising efforts are crucial in these endeavors.

A New Commercial Era

In 2021, “U.S. Soccer” announced an ambitious plan to bring its commercial rights in-house after a nearly two decades of outsourcing them to a third party. The transition took place at the start of 2023, and the Federation hasn’t looked back since.

Led by Chief Commercial Officer David Wright, the Federation stood up its commercial team across six core business areas, including partnerships, media, consumer products, marketing, events, and business ventures. Over a very short period, “U.S. Soccer’s” commercial investment has led to substantial impact across fan engagement (+74% in digital views), TV and streaming viewership (+40%), match attendance (+20%), partnership revenue (+60%), and merchandise sales over comparative years (+25%). The aggregate success of the broader commercial business has led to exponential YoY revenue growth (+45%) and shows no signs of slowing down.

A big driver in the Federations revenue growth centers around its Partnerships business, focused on working alongside brands that share a commitment and passion toward making the greatest impact and contributions to growing the game – another one of “U.S. Soccer’s” strategic pillars. Since January 2023, the Federation has added five new partners to multi-year deals. These include Coca-Cola, Marriott Bonvoy, New York Life, Ticketmaster, and Truly. Together, they account for nine figures in contracted revenue and more than doubling year-over-year partner revenue.

“Bringing our commercial rights in-house was a bold move that we knew presented a tremendous amount of opportunity if we could execute out of the gate,” said “U.S. Soccer” Chief Commercial Officer David Wright. “One year in, we’re already seeing enormous benefits from that decision, and that’s in large part due to the growth of the game, our strategic approach, and our incredible staff driving the business.”

Each of the Federation’s partnerships serve a purpose specific to the greater good of the game and the soccer ecosystem. Coca-Cola was enlisted to be the founding partner of the National Training Center while Deloitte helped identify Atlanta as a finalist for its location. A portion of New York Life’s investment will fund “U.S. Soccer’s” Coach for Community program, which will provide free digital coaching education for communities across the nation. Marriott Bonvoy’s investment will support the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, “U.S. Soccer’s” National Championship in which amateurs and professionals alike compete.

Currently, “U.S. Soccer” has 13 strategic partners and two major broadcast partners in Warner Bros. Discovery (English) and Telemundo (Spanish), with six to eight more official partner designations available in the leadup to the 2026 World Cup. With the biggest global sporting events on the horizon and soccer’s rising popularity, the Federation is being intentional in aligning with suitors who share a vested interest in raising the profile of the game.

Fundraising Impact

As a nonprofit organization, fundraising plays a key role in “U.S. Soccer’s” operations and its impact on the soccer ecosystem. At the foundation of its efforts is the Development Fund, which consists of different Circles, or tiers, of donors. By joining a Circle, donors gain access to a range of exclusive benefits while making a tax-deductible donation to support the sport. The Circles’ tiers range from $500 donations to $10,000 or more.

The Federation’s fundraising efforts go a long way, from helping to fund its 27 National Teams to driving forward its members’ programming through grant funding like its Innovate to Grow (ITG) program. In 2023, “U.S. Soccer” awarded over $3 million in ITG funding to support 19 programs by 16 member organizations which directly impacted over 576,000 players, coaches and referees. That amount of funding surpassed the previous record of $2.4 million awarded in 2020.

These efforts directly contribute to a few targeted causes, like growing the game in all its forms by supporting “U.S. Soccer’s” Disability Service Organizations, which offer programming in disciplines different from traditional forms. Other efforts include Democratizing Soccer Knowledge and providing proper coaching education resources across the ecosystem, or growing and improving the referee network by increasing referee safety and reducing barriers of entry for underrepresented officials.

These fundraising efforts cover a lot of ground, literally and figuratively. In September 2023, “U.S. Soccer” announced that philanthropist Arthur M. Blank contributed $50 million to support building its National Training Center, with some of those funds specifically being allocated toward thoughtful design of accessible facilities for the Federation’s Extended National Teams. The contribution will also support women’s coaching and mentorship initiatives, while the NTC will also host youth tournaments, soccer community conferences, programming to benefit soccer-focused nonprofits, among many other initiatives.

As the Federation’s ambition grows, so do its needs. In late 2023, the Federation added Leah Heister Burton as its Chief Advancement Officer, a role created to increase focus in the space and build scalable program focused on building a culture of philanthropy. Burton brings more than 15 years of strategic leadership experience overseeing organizations’ collective fundraising efforts at some of the world’s most respected institutions, most recently working with the renown Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation.

“U.S. Soccer has built a solid foundation for its philanthropic efforts over the past year and we’re very grateful to our donors for their contributions to growing the game,” said Burton. “We’re now looking to evolve and build on those efforts exponentially to really help drive the next chapter. Arthur Blank’s contribution to the NTC is a prime example of the impact these efforts can have, and we’re really excited for the future opportunities in this space.”

Fundraising and philanthropy will be key for the future of “U.S. Soccer.” The next step in this evolution is the Soccer Forward Foundation — a legacy project which will transform soccer in America on the back of the 2026 World Cup.

A Lasting Legacy

“U.S. Soccer’s” efforts are part of a vision to outlast any singular individual or event. The idea is to change the game in America forever. By the end of this decade, the Federation will have a dedicated, state-of-the-art National Training Center and will have helped host one – if not two – World Cups.

Fans will inevitably follow those two tournaments, but the Federation’s vision spans far beyond that. To truly grow the game, it aims to be a leader in research and knowledge sharing, and galvanizing participation at all levels. It aims to expand participation at all levels and for all abilities and reduce barriers to entry, while also increasing retention rates, and increasing both the number and quality of coaches and referees, both of which require making education resources accessible.

Of course, the USMNT and USWNT will be a crucial part of seizing the moment, but the work that “U.S. Soccer” is doing behind the scenes, in areas that are not the most visible at first glance, will be defining factors in its lasting legacy.