ASN’s Brian Sciaretta spoke at size with U.S. Soccer Chief Operatating Officer Dan Helfrich about what U.S. Soccer desires to realize from this World Cup and the way the federation can develop from it
BY
Brian Sciaretta
Posted
Could 28, 2026
6:50 PM
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AT THE START OF 2026, U.S. Soccer employed Dan Helfrich because the federation’s Chief Working Officer. His rent within the newly created place comes at a time when the US is cohosting the 2026 World Cup and will likely be trying to make key strategic choices to maneuver the game ahead within the nation within the years following the match.
Helfrich is graduate of Georgetown College the place he served because the captain of the lads’s soccer crew and was acknowledged as an Tutorial All-American. Previous to becoming a member of U.S. Soccer, he served because the CEO for Deloitte Consulting LLP.
In his position at U.S. Soccer, he’s tasked with overseeing the group’s day by day operations, “with a focus on optimizing business processes and executing key strategic initiatives to drive accelerated growth for the Federation.” He experiences to U.S. Soccer CEO and Normal Secretary J.T. Batson.
Final week, Helfrich spoke with ASN about quite a few key matters involving the way forward for the federation and the way it intends to maneuver ahead following cohosting the 2026 World Cup.
Dan Helfrich: I view 1994 as creating the situations for a basis that did not beforehand exist. And that features a males’s division 1 skilled league with some scale to it. It features a stage of foundational visibility – media, and many others. – and I believe that basis has served us very nicely within the 30 years since to the place we’re a soccer nation in some ways – based mostly on the quantity of play, the standard of play the attain of play. The following interval is not about foundations; it’s truly about remodeling the system itself.
And reworking the system means every part from the requirements of play during a participant’s journey from very early ages. It contains rewiring a system to create far more entry, far more affordability for gamers and households. It contains, on the very prime of the game on the lads’s facet, with the ability to create the situations for our already very gifted 15, 16, 17-year-old gamers to speed up their careers within the earlier phases of their skilled careers – which goes to have advantages for home leagues and the nationwide groups. To me, the only solution to describe it’s that ’94 was the muse together with the highest of the pyramid, 2026 reworked the entire system ranging from the underside.
ASN: When folks speak about participant growth, there are numerous issues that go into that. I’ve coated youth nationwide groups for a few years and the dynamic to that has modified. There was residency, Challenge 40, and all kinds of mechanisms over time since 1994 to foster the event of prime gamers. However the present setting is that these gamers are with skilled golf equipment from a really early age. A lot of their time is now with their membership’s youth groups and academies. MLS groups proceed to signal homegrown gamers at youthful ages. USL groups are following an identical path which significantly expands the skilled footprint of the game to achieve and determine gamers. However that begs the query of what can the federation do foundationally with participant growth if prime younger gamers are with their golf equipment 80-90% of the time?
Helfrich: To start with, U.S. Soccer must view its position as orchestrating your complete system, not governing nationwide groups solely. So if you happen to have a look at it that manner, you then truly say the partnership between golf equipment and nation, a partnership between U.S. Soccer and never solely MLS academy programs on the boys facet however nationwide leagues and state associations like we have now to care about and create assist for and create requirements for the way all of these issues function collectively. You may change the sport if you happen to do this. So, now we will speak about participant growth for these gamers who attain core youth nationwide crew participant standing. There we speak about issues like growing in shared particular person growth plans for gamers between the academy and US Soccer.
So, you are truly taking a look at knowledge along with the membership. You are constructing a plan for the gamers pathway along with a membership. You may need a youth nationwide crew coach and the membership coach on a name each month speaking concerning the participant collectively. That is the sort of partnership that we’re starting to unlock. So, there’s not what I view as a synthetic wall between the world of the membership, the world of the participant, and the phrase of the nationwide crew. It is one participant. All of us ought to care about that participant’s growth and reaching their full potential.
ASN: U.S. Soccer’s been present process an enormous change lately. Shifting out of Chicago to Atlanta was big for the group. I do know it isn’t one thing that may be achieved in a single day, however within the months and years following this World Cup, are you anticipating structurally the group to alter so much by way of possibly new positions and a special hierarchy? Is it one thing that you just count on to look very completely different years from now?
— Georgetown College (@Georgetown) December 6, 2024
Helfrich: I view this as a logical second to have a look at the targets we have established. We have established some actually long-term targets, however specifically, we have checked out a set of targets what we’re calling 2032 targets. You probably have a set targets, then I believe it is the correct time to have a look at construction – the way in which folks work collectively and to attempt to outline what’s finest fitted to the brand new set of targets in a sport that is evolving in a short time. I anticipate we are going to evolve the construction to hit these targets. And we have now an opportunity within the months to come back to do this. I believe we’ll make the most of that all through your complete group, together with within the core “sporting structure” the place we have now to acknowledge that, for instance, the lads’s and ladies’s video games all over the world and within the US are very completely different than each other on sure dimensions. And we have to guarantee that our construction displays the nuances of these pathways. We will speak about a lot of these examples and we’ll be open to evolving as a result of that is what the mission forward of us requires.
ASN: On the sector, the method has begun. The crew is now collectively. There was the massive announcement in New York. However by way of charming the general public in the way in which that it did in 1994, I assume you should be fairly optimistic at this second about what the match appears like in phrases on the sector success, not simply the legacy that you just hope to go away.
Helfrich: We hope, count on, and are planning for this summer time to be a catalyst for lots of the work that’s to come back. And so we’re spending a whole lot of time centered on how will we assist as many tens of thousands and thousands folks to expertise the World Cup – and in as an accessible a manner as attainable. Meaning organising community-fests in a whole lot of communities. It means having a enjoyable, free soccer home on Venice Seashore. It means, within the lead as much as the World Cup, video games and making an attempt to create environments in Charlotte and in Chicago which can be superior and embrace tens of 1000’s of tickets at below $50.
We’re making an attempt to create as a lot vitality for as many individuals to expertise the World Cup in a really private manner. After which lastly, sure, we’re optimistic about the way in which the crew is feeling. It ought to be a enjoyable few weeks that hopefully turn into many weeks.
ASN: One query I’ve had for awhile with the lads’s nationwide crew is retaining the crew related between World Cups. The World Cup tends to see an enormous swell of enthusiasm, however the years between are a special story. There have been some low attended video games. However now we’re taking a look at a typical cycle in these in-between years as being two Gold Cups, varied Nations Leagues, and World Cup qualifying that’s much more diluted than previously with 48 groups qualifying. That’s a whole lot of CONCACAF. U.S. Soccer has discovered some methods to interrupt this sample with inventive and impressive scheduling – corresponding to internet hosting the 2016 Copa America Centenario and the 2024 Copa America. However these have been exceptions and irregular occasions. I do know these choices are made on multi-levels, together with you, J.T. Batson, and possibly the subsequent sporting director, however retaining the crew related between World Cups and in ways in which problem the crew and develop curiosity within the crew should be one thing that you just and different key determination makers within the federation speak about often behind the scenes.
Helfrich: In fact. And you recognize our two jobs with the senior groups are to generate pleasure, visibility, and entry for our followers which you recognize you could body as relevance. And likewise to create alternatives for progress and growth to arrange them for main tournaments. That is the dual objective and we speak about them on a regular basis. After we speak about match scheduling, we’re speaking on a regular basis about how do these two targets, visibility and entry and fan pleasure and the objective of aggressive preparation, how do these finest mix? And, after all, there’s constraints on that due to…
ASN: The area we’re in and the competitions it entails…
Helfrich: And so that you perceive these constraints however you there’s a whole lot of room even inside these issues which can be mounted to realize these two targets. That takes so much our consideration that is each on the lads’s facet and the ladies’s facet.
ASN: everybody desires to see the U.S. play groups like Brazil and Argentina. Being concerned with the Copa America spoils followers after which it’s disappointing while you notice these kind of occasions will not be frequently scheduled. However it requires you on the federation to maintain pondering outdoors the field, particularly popping out of this World Cup with bold targets.
Helfrich: I’m assured in the way in which we’re managing with that set of situations. However the different factor I might say is, and you recognize very nicely the significance of youth nationwide groups. You seemingly perceive the significance of the Olympics. And there is a whole lot of knowledge that means that success in youth World Cups and in Olympic cycles on the lads’s facet, create, speed up participant growth and create the situations for fulfillment in subsequent World Cups. Take into consideration the one time the U.S. males have been within the medal spherical of the Olympics is 2000 in Sydney. That was adopted by our greatest end ever within the World Cup.
ASN: John O’Brien, Josh Woff, and Landon Donovan all used that match to go from youth nationwide groups or small roles on the U.S. crew and into necessary gamers very quickly afterward.
Helfrich: Six gamers from the 2000 Olympics crew featured on the 2002 World Cup crew. I share that as a result of you will note us strategically investing extra consideration and sources and concentrate on the youth nationwide crew video games program, on elevating the lads’s Olympic crew to arrange us to be in one of the best aggressive place. I believe these issues can have a major position within the aggressive preparation for our future males’s World Cup and different main match performances.
And I additionally imagine if we do issues nicely, we will additionally create extra visibility for gamers at earlier phases of their profession to create extra stars – and that is good for the game. One of many issues that I am enthusiastic about in having the brand new coaching middle is I believe we’ll be capable of appeal to prime youth worldwide groups to come back play our groups. I believe will be capable of broadcast these video games from the nationwide coaching middle in a manner that we be promoted, make accessible in a much more accessible manner than they’ve ever had earlier than. And I believe these issues will repay in our senior crew efficiency over time.
We’re excited to welcome Dan Helfrich as U.S. Soccer’s new Chief Working Officer.
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— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) November 17, 2025
ASN: The Olympics has at all times captivated the American public and crew sports activities profit from it. Simply have a look at the U.S. hockey crew earlier this 12 months. It seems that U.S. Soccer is absolutely going to get out in entrance of the lads’s crew which can get to play on residence soil in a match that will likely be performed all throughout the nation.
Helfrich: No query. And what the skilled technical evaluation would inform us, which might match what we see with our personal eyes, is that you just our participant pool proper now within the age 17-21 group on the lads’s facet is a really gifted participant pool. Once more, we have to work with all of the skilled groups that they’re a part of to develop and develop these gamers. However it’s a excessive potential participant pool and we’ll lean into that within the years to come back
ASN: I do know Matt Crocker left abruptly and I do know a whole lot of the work he did for this World Cup was already achieved and that his departure most likely wasn’t going to have an effect on something with the World Cup. However what is the timeline, U.S. Soccer is pondering to have a brand new sporting director in place? Mauricio Pochettino’s deal will finish on the World Cup. In two months, U.S. Soccer is not going to have a sporting director, a coach for the lads’s nationwide crew, or a coach for the lads’s Olympic crew – which you mentioned is a precedence. How rapidly do you want readability on all of that to verify the groups proceed to maneuver ahead? Are you ready to start the subsequent cycle or to go for a very long time with interim coaches or sporting administrators? The query, I suppose, is extra concerning the timing to resolve these vacancies.
Helfrich: The very first thing we’re pondering is we ought to be laser centered on this summer time’s crew and let Mauricio, Jesus and their workers ship what they’ve very nicely put in place during the last couple of years. After which, like every considerate group, we’re ready for a wide range of eventualities with a wide range of timing within the months to come back. However that is been a part of a disciplined course of. And we really feel very outfitted as we sit right here as we speak to make the alternatives that we have to make within the time that is in entrance of us with a whole lot of confidence and so much optimism.
