US Soccer CEO JT Batson Talks World Cup Business Growth

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

**Carol Massar** (0:07)
Let's talk about what's going on, because the Oudlots podcast, they're doing something, and I was reading in, and they pointed out that the last time the World Cup came to the US was back in 1994 Before then, the World Cup was an enormously popular event with surprisingly limited commercial significance. Fast forward, it is massive with a global audience and reaching, I got to say, it's one of the really world's most watched global sports events. So leading the way forward with us is JT Batson. He's been CEO and Secretary General of the US Soccer Federation since September of 2022 He joins us from Los Angeles. JT, great to have you here. And then also with us is our own Randall Williams. He's Bloomberg News Senior Reporter, co-host of the Business of Sports podcast. He's here in our New York studio. Great to have you here. You've been tracking all the games in and out. I'm going to let you ask the first question of JT, because you've been watching all of this stuff.

**Randall Williams** (0:59)
I mean, let's start off pretty basic. JT, how happy are you right now?

**JT Batson** (1:05)
Definitely happy. And based on everyone I keep running into here in LA and my travels around the country, lots and lots of happy people here and they're excited for the run we're on.

**Carol Massar** (1:15)
Are you surprised at how well it's going? You know that there were a lot of stories leading up to it about cost and access, and everybody here in the New York Metro was like, it's going to be a nightmare. And it is a little tough moving around, but it just seems to be going well. Everybody who's at the games are just having a blast.

**JT Batson** (1:30)
Well, the US is a soccer country. There are well more than 100 million people in America who are fans of soccer.
And of course, we have such a diverse country with people from all over the world. So every team was going to feel welcome here. Everyone is going to have an amazing time, and people are now seeing that all around the world.

**Tim Stenovec** (1:46)
It's pretty cool walking around the streets of New York. You see Argentina jerseys on a day that Argentina is playing. You see Brazil jerseys all over. Even here at the office, I sometimes am seeing jerseys this week.
No question World Cup fever is hitting here. In the streets of Brooklyn over the weekend, they were selling all the jerseys that were available for these countries around the world. They were out of US jerseys in every size. And I think that really speaks to the enthusiasm that we're seeing right now, especially among kids. How do you translate that enthusiasm into something sustainable for the US?

**JT Batson** (2:19)
Well, a couple of things. One is you're right around the incredible demand for the US jerseys. They're iconic. They're a ton of fun. And even though Nike produced way more than they ever have before, they have been hot items all across the country. And so it doesn't surprise me to hear about that in Brooklyn. And I think more broadly, we view, we have now this World Cup, the LA Olympics, and hopefully the Women's World Cup in 2031 to have a similar impact on the growth of this sport as we did in 94, the Atlanta Olympics in 96, and then the Women's World Cup in 99
And if you think about what soccer was like in 94 relative to where we are now, imagine what it could look like in the future with all this excitement.
And we're excited about using this as a way of getting more soccer in schools, getting soccer in more communities across the country, getting more commercial investment in our sport, getting more government philanthropic investment in our sport. And so lots of exciting progress, and we know that the best days for soccer in this country are ahead.

**Tim Stenovec** (3:17)
I should clarify, I don't know if the woman's telling them, they said Nike on them, Randall. I don't know if they were official Nike gear. I just want to clarify.

**Randall Williams** (3:25)
Yeah, that's a good clarification point. I do wonder for you, JT, what do you think the real impact of this World Cup is on US Soccer in comparison to previous World Cups? Of course, we had Qatar and South Africa and so many other ones that created incredible memories. But for you being here in the States, seeing the fans sing along in the stadiums after the US has won, what do you think the real impact of this World Cup is going to be on US Soccer?