U.S. Soccer is exploring a complete overhaul of the youth soccer system amid renewed scrutiny of pay-to-play following the USMNT's Round of 16 World Cup exit — with the goal of making the game more accessible and affordable 🇺🇸⚽️ U.S. Soccer COO Dan Helfrich: “We are not seeking to make the current system more affordable. We’re trying to create a new system that then we make highly affordable. It’s a really important distinction.” Arsène Wenger, speaking alongside Helfrich at U.S. Soccer’s headquarters outside Atlanta: “From outside, I felt that people from a poor background had no access to the game. That is quite a big part of the population that usually in Europe, the best football players come from poor backgrounds. We want maybe a job to do as well to make it possible and available for everybody and after to be consistent because it’s not a short-term fix.” The discussion centered on how the federation can continue growing the sport after what U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson called an “incredibly successful” World Cup that “has fundamentally changed the trajectory of the sport in the United States.”