Arsène Wenger: US soccer development will depend on ‘consistency’ and ‘education’

Former Arsenal boss calls out US pay-to-play model Wenger says academy setups are vital for growth Arsène Wenger, Fifa’s head of global football development, has said that while the US faced numerous structural obstacles to becoming a real soccer power, many of those obstacles are being addressed by leadership at the US Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer. Speaking Thursday in a roundtable with US Soccer chief executive JT Batson and chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, Wenger heaped praise on the federation for its new $250m headquarters in Fayetteville, Georgia, saying “I feel it’s important for every footballer, somewhere, to feel you’re at home.” Continue reading...

Jeff Rueter and Pablo Iglesias Maurer in Fayetteville, Georgia · Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 1:56 PM
US news | The Guardian

Arsène Wenger: US soccer development will depend on ‘consistency’ and ‘education’

Former Arsenal boss calls out US pay-to-play model
Wenger says academy setups are vital for growth

Arsène Wenger, Fifa’s head of global football development, has said that while the US faced numerous structural obstacles to becoming a real soccer power, many of those obstacles are being addressed by leadership at the US Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer.

Speaking Thursday in a roundtable with US Soccer chief executive JT Batson and chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, Wenger heaped praise on the federation for its new $250m headquarters in Fayetteville, Georgia, saying “I feel it’s important for every footballer, somewhere, to feel you’re at home.”

This page shows an excerpt; reporting belongs to the original publisher. Some images or embeds may be omitted compared with the live article.