Latest news with #U.S.Soccer
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
USWNT match-worn jerseys to be auctioned off while they're being worn
In April, Trinity Rodman struck early for the U.S. Women's National Team against Brazil, with her first goal for the team since the 2024 Olympics. She received the ball from forward Alyssa Thompson and finished with a shot into the lower right corner of the net. It was her 11th goal for the national team. While the crowd's cheers filled SoFi Stadium, they did not see what happened in the locker room at halftime. Advertisement Rodman's sweat-soaked, mud-streaked jersey was carefully collected by the team's equipment manager and placed in a sealed container bound for a warehouse in Amsterdam with eight other jerseys. These belonged to her teammates: Lindsey Heaps, Catarina Macario, Tara McKeown, Emily Fox, Allyson Sentnor, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Crystal Dunn and Sam Coffey. Almost three months later, on Saturday, the jersey was sold for $1,833 on an online marketplace that auctions signed match-worn shirts from around the world. The Dutch company collaborates with over 300 soccer clubs and federations across 35 countries, and it has just signed a deal with both U.S. national teams. During the USWNT's friendly against China in Minnesota on Saturday, the platform will launch its first live auction tied to a match. Every jersey worn will be up for grabs. The deal with U.S. Soccer and the USWNT Players Association also covers player-worn kits from all international tournaments moving forward, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil. The idea of selling worn jerseys came to brothers and co-founders Bob and Tijmen Zonderwijk in 2016 while they were searching for a special gift for their father, a die-hard Ajax supporter, who was moving across the country for work. They wanted to get him a match-worn, signed jersey from one of his favorite players to hang in his new office. At the time, the only option was the annual club auction. Advertisement After a year trying to convince Dutch clubs of their new idea, one finally gave in: FC Twente, where Dutch captain Jill Roord recently signed. 'We pitched the idea there, and the guy was quiet for the entire hour. After that, he said, 'Hey, it sounds like a win-win. When can we start?' So we were like, 's***, this is happening!'' Bob Zonderwijk told . In addition to a handful of USWNT and USMNT jerseys, the company's warehouse in Amsterdam is home to about 9,000 match-worn jerseys. Historically, the locker room and those sweat-soaked jerseys are sacred for players. Most keep them. Some toss them to fans. Others trade them with opponents. Either way, they're prized. The Zonderwijk brothers, lifelong soccer fans, knew better than to mess with that. Advertisement 'We don't want to interfere with those traditions,' Tijmen Zonderwijk said. So they found a workaround: they collect only first-half jerseys. 'Players are free to do whatever they want with the second-half kits — keep them, swap them, toss them into the stands,' he explains. Which means the Rodman jersey that just sold is certified and guaranteed to be the very shirt she scored in. Operationally, every club is structured differently but MatchWornShirt's co-founders realized that to streamline their operations, they had to work with the most important person in the room: the kit managers. Last year, they hosted the first European conference of kit managers in Amsterdam, inviting 180 club representatives and 90 kit managers from partner clubs. 'The good thing about kitmen is that they are structured and reliable. They have their own protocols and once we become part of that protocol, we are all good,' Tijmen explained. Advertisement This is especially crucial when it comes to getting the jerseys cleaned. Or rather, not cleaned. Instead of soap and water, the jerseys are treated with UVC light, a method that breaks down any lingering DNA to protect the player's health data but preserves the emotion: the grass stains, the wear and tear, even a trace of the smell. 'Eighty percent of the smell is reduced, but the smell is always there. It's also what makes it authentic,' Tijmen said. 'If it smelled like flowers, then people might also question the authenticity.' Once the jerseys are cleaned, the process of authentication starts: using match footage, they check how patches are printed to match them to the player wearing them. Then they chip the shirts with NFC (Near Field Communication) chips that carry a unique ID to certify their authenticity. NFC, commonly used for non-contact payments, uses close-range wireless technology to communicate between devises. Advertisement So far, the highest price paid for a women's match-worn shirt belongs to Sophia Smith's (now Wilson) No. 9 jersey that she wore while scoring in Portland Thorns' 2-0 NWSLchampionship win over Kansas City Current in 2022. It sold for $9,507 (£7,062). On the men's side, the most expensive jersey auctioned on the site was worn by Lionel Messi from his final season playing for Paris Saint-Germain. The winning bid was $58,000. MatchWornShirt did not share how the money gets split between them and the clubs, as the company doesn't disclose specific contract terms. But each partnership is tailored to reflect the commercial and charitable priorities of the teams and organizations involved. In the case of the U.S. Soccer, the deal includes both the federation and the respective players' associations. That means the proceeds are shared, and players get a cut. According to USWNT Players Association's agreement with the players, the PA receives payment from licenses like MatchWornShirt and players receive royalties. According to their financial statements from 2023, the organization paid its members $1,059,963 in royalties which amounts to 34.7 percent of the total revenue. The U.S. Women's National Team Players Association's (USWNTPA) Department of Labor report from 2024 shows that in 2023 former U.S. forward Alex Morgan took home the most in overall royalties ($167,593). Wilson ($74,232) and Rodman ($41,643) weren't far behind. 'With so many newcomers earning their first caps for the USWNT, these jerseys carry deep significance,' Annie Mitchell-Reid, the director of strategic partnerships and business at USWNTPA, told . 'Think of sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson making their debuts side by side, and others who will wear the stars and stripes for the first time or even the last time. There are so many amazing moments to come that fans can have a tangible piece of.' Advertisement But what happens if a jersey doesn't sell at one of MatchWorn's auctions? The Zonderwijks are not worried. 'We've never sold a jersey,' Tijmen said with a grin. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. US Men's national team, US Women's national team, Portland Thorns, Soccer, NWSL, Sports Business, Memorabilia & Collectibles 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mexico will co-host 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup with United States
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) will co-host the 2031 Women's World Cup alongside the United States, an FMF spokesperson confirmed to on Friday. The federation announced the plans in a press release Monday, outlining 'important agreements' for the development of football in Mexico. The release came on the heels of a Liga MX owners meeting earlier that day. Advertisement In April, FIFA confirmed the United States as the sole bidder for the 2031 tournament, which will expand to 48 teams that year for the first time in women's football. U.S. Soccer later said it planned to co-host the tournament with other Concacaf partners. The Mexican federation said in its release that it was designated to co-host the tournament with the U.S. 'and other Concacaf countries, with parity in the number of matches.' It's unclear how matches will be split between the co-hosts and whether other Concacaf nations will be added to the mix. The Mexican federation did not share additional details about its plans. has reached out to U.S. Soccer and FIFA for comment. Mexico and the U.S. previously submitted a bid to co-host the 2027 World Cup, before withdrawing from the bidding process weeks before a public vote was scheduled to take place. At the time, the federations expressed their interest in bidding for the 2031 edition. Brazil was later named host of the 2027 tournament. Advertisement There is precedent for the regions to share co-hosting responsibilities, with the men's World Cup in 2026 co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. On the women's side, Canada last hosted the women's tournament in 2015. The two nations also have experience in hosting an expanded tournament, suggesting that the infrastructure for an expanded tournament may have been seen as a draw for FIFA. In expanding the Women's World Cup to 48 teams for 2031, FIFA will bring the women's tournament in line with the men's tournament, which will also feature 48 teams next year. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. International Football, NWSL, UK Women's Football, women's sports 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Los Angeles Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
News Analysis: Why are big-name U.S. players passing on World Cup tuneup?
'To represent my country in a soccer game, there's just nothing better than that.' —Christian Pulisic, 2020 Never mind. —Christian Pulisic, last week With the World Cup, one the U.S. will play at home, just 380 days away, Captain America has decided to take a pass on the national team's last major competition ahead of the tournament. That's Pulisic's choice, of course. He's played a grueling schedule with AC Milan this season, one that concludes Sunday, a week before the national team reports to camp in Chicago. And he has permission. 'Christian and his team approached the Federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played,' said Matt Crocker, U.S. Soccer's sporting director, noting that Pulisic has played more than 4,400 minutes for club and country the last 12 months. Nor is Pulisic alone in his absence. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Josh Sargent and Yunus Musah, Pulisic's teammate in Milan, were also left off the 27-man roster summoned to training camp ahead next month's Gold Cup, although some of those players will be participating in the Club World Cup. Yet even if reason and rules are strongly on Pulisic's side, the optics are bad. Over the last year the national team has suffered through two of its worst performances in recent memory, getting bounced in the group stage of last summer's Copa América — which cost coach Gregg Berhalter his job — then losing in heartless fashion to Panama and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League under Mauricio Pochettino, Berhalter's successor. So with the national team in dismal form a year before the World Cup returns to the U.S. for the first time in 32 years, this is probably not the best time for the active leader in goals and caps to be asking out of the lineup. Especially since the Gold Cup likely will be the last, best chance for the team to rediscover the form that saw it reach the round of 16 in the last World Cup. 'There is already doubt and concern regarding this team given recent failures. People are even questioning if they care and saying, 'If they don't care, then why should we?'' said Alexi Lalas, who played every minute in the 1994 World Cup, helping the U.S. reach the round of 16 and changing the trajectory of soccer in the U.S. forever. 'I can't believe we created an apathy towards this team a year out from hosting a World Cup. 'I just think this summer's Gold Cup, a tournament in the U.S., is a great opportunity to create a more positive vibe surrounding the team and reignite a belief that they can do something special next summer. I don't think we can afford to waste it.' That's all true. But Pulisic and the other first-choice players missing from the Gold Cup roster were put in a bad position by a global soccer environment with a rapacious appetite for matches — or rather a rapacious appetite for the money those matches produce. Consider Pulisic's schedule the last 12 months. For the U.S., he played in the Copa América, five friendlies and four Nations League matches. For AC Milan, the Italian club that pays his $5.8-million salary, he played in four tournaments, including Champions League. He's clearly banged up and needs some rest. Traditionally, the Champions League final was the last game on the European calendar. Now it's followed by the Club World Cup, a competition I'm not sure anyone really needed but one that extends the club calendar for 32 teams for as long as another six weeks. Even at 26, that's a punishing schedule. If Pulisic and the others don't take a break now, they could head into the World Cup year running on fumes. 'Many people can say it's really important for us to be all together for the last time before the World Cup,' Pochettino said in virtual meeting with reporters. 'As a coaching staff we listen to the player. We have our own idea in everything, but after consideration we decided the best for him, the best for the team, the best for the national team is the decision that we made.' Lalas isn't buying that. 'I recognize that players play a lot of games,' he said. 'But you know who plays a lot of games? Messi.' (Not recently. Messi played about half as many games as Pulisic in the last year, according to the website.) 'Of course I want U.S. players to be at their best in the summer of 2026, but we can't put them in bubble-wrap until then,' Lalas continued. 'I know I am from a different generation, and I try not be a grumpy old man. But I just can't fathom turning down the privilege of representing my country. 'We need all hands on deck. We can rest in 2027.' Pochettino might not be buying his own words either. Because in the same news conference in which he excused Pulisic and the others, he made it clear that every spot on his World Cup roster is up for grabs. And the best way to grab one is to show up at training camp. 'What we want to create in our national team is people desperate to come, but desperate to come to perform,' said Pochettino who, in his eight months in charge, has been unable to rouse his players from a listless funk. 'To perform means follow the rules, create a good atmosphere, be part of the team. 'We need to create this culture about winning and we need to chase our aim. If we want to be good in one year's time, we need to think that today is the most important day. It's not to say, 'OK, I wait. The World Cup is in one year. It's in six months. It's in one month.' And then it's late.' The U.S. has been building for this since 2018, when FIFA awarded the World Cup to the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The roster has been carefully cultivated, players have been methodically groomed; broadcast contracts have been negotiated and sponsorships signed, all in the hopes of the U.S. making a deep run next summer. Now that the tournament on the doorstep, those plans appear to be crumbling. Could the U.S. really field a World Cup team without Pulisic, Reyna, Weah and the others? Well, it will be fielding a Gold Cup team without them. And Pochettino seems to have found a sense of urgency that was missing in the Nations League debacle. It's all a gamble. If the U.S. makes a long run in next year's World Cup, no one will remember who played in the Gold Cup. But if the U.S. is ousted early, Pulisic and the other absentees will get blamed, no matter how well they play. 'A home World Cup can create a legacy. We should be doing everything possible, on and off the field, to make it successful,' Lalas said. 'There is pressure, responsibility and opportunity, especially for a country like the U.S. Home World Cups in 1994 and 1999 fundamentally changed the landscape and trajectory of soccer in America. 2026 can have the same impact. 'If we mess this up, on or off the field, we only have ourselves to blame.' ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mauricio Pochettino sends clear message with latest USMNT roster: 'What we want ... is people desperate to perform'
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino has a clear message for members of the national team's core: Get ready for a challenge. On Thursday, U.S. Soccer announced the USMNT roster for the final set of friendlies before the Concacaf Gold Cup. Like previous rosters, the squad includes a number of new names as Pochettino extends more opportunities to uncapped players. Advertisement However, this roster is missing a unusually large number of big names: Christian Pulisic will be out after requesting time to rest. Other core players — like Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and more — are also absent, due to a mixture of injuries, coach's decisions and the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. Those excused absences or coach's decisions might seem reasonable enough. But then Pochettino seemed to clearly outline a hard reset on the USMNT's culture. In a press conference on Thursday, Pochettino mentioned that it was "exciting" to bring in different players, including players who are making their USMNT debuts — and players who can try to "challenge" players who would otherwise be a lock for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "I think it's important to create this challenge," he said. Pochettino's short tenure with the USMNT has had its rough patches, with back-to-back losses in the Concacaf Nations League in March. While sounding clearly unsatisfied with some of the team's recent results, Pochettino seemed to open up the possibility that any member of the team's core could lose out on a spot in the next year. "I think (even) with all the names, I think that everyone would agree with us, we didn't perform," Pochettino said. "But I think the important thing is to provide to the the new player the possibility to challenge, and to challenge the possibility to take a place. Advertisement Players will arrive at camp on June 1, where Pochettino says that they'll start off with a conversation about "the possibility to defend your place." "When you are, now, in the national team is not because you are here to try to replace people that (are) sure that (they are) going to be here. No, you have the possibility to defend your place," Pochettino said of the players coming to this camp. "How you are going to defend your place, that is the important thing for us. You need to fight, you need to show attitude, the right attitude, but not only that, perform, and be brave, and follow the rules that we set in the group.' "I think it is really important for us," he continued. "They are going to compete in a fair way with different people that maybe are not involved today in this squad." Since taking over the national team, Pochettino has been notably open to providing opportunities for players who are not part of the USMNT core. The June roster includes a couple of notable first-time call-ups, including Orlando City defender Alex Freeman, Philadelphia Union midfielder Quinn Sullivan, FC Köln forward Damion Downs and (ironically) Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, the son of former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter, who Pochettino replaced. "It's about not (losing) the possibility when you have the chance," Pochettino said. "My feeling in all these camps, from October, November, January and March, I think many players, they took the chance and deserve to again to come back because (they) not only perform and behave well in the in the camp, if not after they keep performing in their teams." Advertisement But then the head coach continued with a lengthy, eyebrow-raising commentary on whether this roster is meant to give the current USMNT core a jolt. "(In) a previous question you say to me, is (this roster) to punish or to say 'pay attention' to some players? What we want to create in our national team is people desperate to come, but desperate to come, to perform. To perform means (to) follow the rule, create good atmosphere, be part of the team, be able, in every single aspect, (to meet) our (federation's) demand," Pochettino said, "and understand that it's possible (for it to) be the last possibility to be with us. "Because we only have time to maybe train one, two, three times, then play. One, two recovery sessions and then play. And then go home and maybe wait two months to be all together (again). If you arrive to the camp and you want to spend a nice time, play golf, go for a dinner, visit my family, visit my friend. Is that the culture that we want to create? No, no, no, no, no. "What we want to do is to go to the national team, arrive and be focused. And spend all my focus and energy on the national team. Because we need to create this culture about winning," he continued. "If we want to be good in one year's time, we need to think that today is the most important day, because we need to build from today our way to arrive. It's not to say, 'OK, I wait, I wait, I wait. No, the World Cup is in one year. It's in six months. It's in one month.' And then it's (too) late. "That is why I think it's important to have (a) different approach," Pochettino concluded. Pochettino is making it clear: No spot is safe for the 2026 World Cup. The current roster will have a chance to prove themselves at two friendlies before the Gold Cup, with a friendly against Turkey on June 7 and one against Switzerland on June 10. After that, the U.S. will move on to the Gold Cup, with the first group stage match on June 15. Full USMNT roster for the June international window: GOALKEEPERS (4): Matt Freese (New York City FC; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 3/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 30/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 51/0) Advertisement DEFENDERS (8): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 3/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 33/2), Alex Freeman (Orlando City; 0/0), DeJuan Jones (San Jose Earthquakes; 10/0), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 19/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 68/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 24/1), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 32/3), MIDFIELDERS (10): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 47/8); Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 44/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 0/0), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 18/0), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC; 24/1), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 4/0), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo; 4/1), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; 0/0); Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 17/0), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew; 1/0) FORWARDS (5): Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC; 4/3), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 17/5); Damion Downs (FC Köln/GER; 0/0), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 4/1), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 15/4)
USA Today
22-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
U.S. Soccer explained why Christian Pulisic is skipping the Gold Cup and fans weren't thrilled
Christian Pulisic is coming off a career season with AC Milan. He's the face of the national team. And if any player understands his importance to the team ahead of the 2026 World Cup, it's Pulisic. Yet, he still asked to skip national team duties this summer. With the U.S. men's national team automatically qualifying for the 2026 World Cup as a co-host, there's an added emphasis on the few remaining USMNT matches. This summer's Gold Cup, specifically, is the lone competitive tournament before the World Cup. The rest will be friendlies during in-season international windows. Basically, head coach Mauricio Pochettino is running out of opportunities to get it right with this squad, and now he'll be without his best player. After reports on Wednesday that Pulisic would be excluded from the Gold Cup roster, U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker clarified that the request actually came from Pulisic's camp. The two sides ultimately agreed to let the 26-year-old sit out this summer and recover for the season ahead. He said: "Christian and his team approached the federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played in the past two years at both the club and international level with very little break. "After thoughtful discussions and careful consideration, we made the collective decision that this is the right moment for him to get the rest he needs. The objective is to ensure he's fully prepared to perform at the highest level next season." Of course, Pulisic isn't a robot, and he played a ton of matches this year. So, it's understandable to not be excited about facing Saudi Arabia or Haiti in a mostly empty AT&T Stadium — we get it. But knowing the importance of building chemistry, he has a responsibility to be there. It doesn't suit the USMNT at all to go into a Gold Cup without its best player. Pulisic could have worked out a minutes restriction plan with Pochettino or figured out a path that allowed for rest and recovery. He didn't. He's not going to be at the Gold Cup simply because he doesn't want to be. The USMNT will also be without players like Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna whose teams qualified for the Club World Cup oddly taking place at the same time as the Gold Cup (in the same country). Had AC Milan qualified for the Club World Cup, we know that Pulisic would not be sitting it out for rest. It shows where his priorities lie with his club-and-country duties. And that's a troubling reality as time winds down before the World Cup. You have key players looking at USMNT duty as a burden rather than an honor. No wonder fans were upset to see Pulisic skip out on the USMNT. This was how Twitter/X reacted It's a terrible look. There's no way around it.
