In less than 24 hours a decision will be made in Zurich, Switzerland that could forever change the landscape of soccer in the United States. The key word, of course, is “could.”
The power to make the decision lies in the hands of 22 FIFA executives – down from 24 following a corruption scandal involving two members of soccer’s governing body.
WATCH: Live stream from Dallas City Hall of World Cup announcement, Thursday beginning at 8 AM
Never before has the World Cup bid process received such attention – at least three networks (Fox Soccer Channel, ESPN and Univision) are dedicating time to provide coverage of the decision. It’s clear that times have changed, and you need look only as far back as 1988 to see it.
In 1988, the United States beat out Morocco for the right to host the 1994 World Cup. At that point in time the US Men’s National Team was irrelevant and consisted primarily of college players. There was no top-flight professional league with the infrastructure to support player development.
Soccer in
America – and even in Dallas – needed more direction, and the World Cup helped
provide it.
“In Dallas, the World Cup consolidated what had been in place for many years,”
says longtime local youth coach and former Dallas Tornado player Bobby Moffat.
“It made people realize what a big deal the game is. It gave us greater focus.”
Now, 22 years later, the US is again competing for a chance to host what many
consider the greatest sporting event in the world. Their competition for the
2022 bid? Australia, Japan, Qatar and South Korea. The US also initially had
their hat in the ring for 2018 but withdrew, leaving England, Russia,
Portugal/Spain, and Belgium/the Netherlands as the finalists.
The time is right for the United States to again host the World Cup, and with 12 years of run-up time the rate at which the game could accelerate growth would be unprecedented.
By now you’ve probably heard plenty about what getting the 2022 World Cup would mean for the sport of soccer in the United States. But I want to take a look at how FC Dallas, and really all MLS clubs, could benefit from the growth that would occur. In my opinion, that resides in one specific area – player development.
The World Cup and Player Development
Two years after the 1994 World Cup, Major League Soccer was created. Throughout the league’s 15-year existence a focus on player development has been at the forefront, and as a result the US Men’s National Team has become stronger.
But there’s still much more to be done.
I look back at the USA’s performance in South Africa, and I wanted more. I now expect us to not only compete, but to play a certain way. I want to see American players playing with creativity, individuality, personality and most importantly, the willingness to take the kind of risk that opens a game up.
How do we get there? The player development paradigm must shift.
“In this country, talented soccer players don’t yet dream of being a professional,” says Oscar Pareja, who himself was a part of the Colombian national team and who now serves as the FC Dallas Director of Player Development. “If we can engage top players at young ages and then expose them to our development program, we feel they can meet their full potential.
“We want them to dream of being professional players, and the World Cup should be a part of that dream as well.”
That dream would come a whole lot closer for local players if the US is awarded the World Cup in 2022 – Dallas is listed as a potential host city and would be a virtual lock to be included. If that happens, FC Dallas would be able to steer the local conversation in player development. In only its third year of youth development, the club is already considered a national leader in grooming young players. In fact, FCD has already signed four youth products to professional contracts.
On a national level, the additional funds that would trickle down from US Soccer over the next 12 years would empower MLS clubs to implement programs that can expedite development. The end product would affect the level of play both in MLS and on the national team, aligning our paradigm closer to other global models.
If the US is awarded the 2022 bid, the opportunity will exist for US Soccer and MLS to engage more kids than ever before – and keep in mind that our nation already has more young players involved in the game than any other nation at a whopping 3.9 million registered youth players.
Don Garber recently promised that, if awarded the World Cup, “we [MLS] want to be one of the top leagues in the world by 2022.” The truth of the matter is that even if we DON’T win the World Cup bid for 2022, the player development model here in the US is already shifting. I see it every day here at our facilities.
But with 12 years of run-up time?
The process would be extremely expedited, and the results would show on the field, on our home soil. As hosts of the world’s greatest sporting event, wouldn’t we want to have our best generation of players yet? The answer is a resounding yes, of course – and getting the 2022 bid will only speed up that process.
I know I’ll be watching anxiously tomorrow morning, along with everyone else that has a vested interest in the growth of the game here at home. The paradigm is already shifting – but tomorrow we find out how fast.
FCDallas.com will be streaming LIVE from Dallas City Hall beginning Thursday, Dec. 2 at 8 AM CT as the local Go USA chapter finds out the World Cup host for 2022.CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT LIVE.