US Soccer announced Friday that it will build a national training facility in the Atlanta metropolitan area funded in part by a $50 million donation from Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank.
The federation has yet to finalize the exact location for the facility, but it hopes to begin construction next year. US Soccer CEO JT Batson is currently leading the search for the site, which will be selected in January 2024.
The organization also did not set a target opening date for the facility, which will serve as the headquarters for US Soccer, which is currently based in Chicago. It will include training fields, facilities for coaching and referee education, maintenance and performance analysis and other infrastructure. It will also host youth tournaments and soccer conferences.
“America’s top athletes deserve the best when it comes to preparing them for competition on the global stage and I’m thrilled that US Soccer has chosen metro Atlanta as its new home,” Blank said. in a statement. “Atlanta’s unique passion for soccer, corporate community and unparalleled infrastructure make it a natural home for a national training center and I am very confident that our community will support the best soccer players of America to compete on a global level like never before. I’m also excited to help US Soccer with community outreach and soccer development among underserved communities as part of our contribution and know that it will benefit many young people by participating in the beautiful game for generations to come.
The Athletic It was reported in February that US Soccer was considering Atlanta and Cary, North Carolina for its training facility. The Cary bid would have used the existing infrastructure at WakeMed Park. The federation previously said in an email in late 2022 to donors that it needs to raise $300 million for the training center, which will include 14 or more training fields. US Soccer continues to fundraise to raise money to build the new training center.
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How will the USMNT and USWNT use the facility?
This remains to be seen. While many European countries use their national training facilities as hubs for senior teams during international windows, the size of the US can make that challenging. US Soccer had to add an extra trip for players flying from Europe or their domestic clubs to train for a few days before flying to a game in another state. The US men’s national team usually hosts its training camp in January in Los Angeles, and moving that camp to Atlanta in the middle of winter can be difficult.
USMNT and USWNT players spoke in favor of the US Soccer announcement.
“Being part of US Soccer for so long and not having a central training facility makes this project very exciting,” said USWNT defender Kelley O’Hara. “I think it will help the Federation and of all national teams to be more united.”
“I think it’s amazing for us…it’s similar to the academy systems, where kids can see what they can do and where they can go, and it’s all very close,” said USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie . “You see the best countries around the world have their own facilities, so it’s good for us to have a home base where we can come together and keep working to do our best.”
US men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter previously expressed his support for a national training center. Speaking last year during the January camp, Berhalter said that “it is useful” for the federation to have a facility “not only for the consistency of the senior team, but also to have all the other teams, the ability for those who are also there.”
“I’ve been around the world and have been lucky enough to see some of the national training facilities in other countries, like St. George in England,” Berhalter said. “And this is a laboratory, man. You see all the coaches interacting, you see the teams there, and really, the players feel at home.
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Will all of US Soccer be completely relocated to Atlanta?
It is unclear whether US Soccer will require all of its employees to move from Chicago to Atlanta. The federation previously required employees to live in Chicago, though that rule was not always enforced across the board. The federation has approximately 250 employees based in Chicago, including most of US Soccer’s coaches. The federation moved to Chicago in 1991 and was previously based in two renovated mansions in the South Loop, called “Soccer House.” The organization moved from Soccer House last summer to an office building in downtown Chicago. It sold Soccer House for $3.9 million in August.
The timing of the move to a new facility will also be interesting due to the fact that US Soccer is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup. Whether the federation will move to a new city while simultaneously planning the tournament remains up in the air. Parlow Cone said before it “absolutely has a national training center ready before the World Cup in ’26.”
US Soccer has other facilities in Los Angeles and Kansas City, Kan. which it shares with the LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City, respectively. The Kansas City facility specifically assists with referee training and education. The US uses the LA facility for January camps and previously had offices for the sports staff there. The Atlanta facility will be a dedicated home for the federation.
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How else will the facility be used?
The expectation is that all 27 national teams will use the facility, but it will likely have the greatest impact on the expanded national teams and youth national teams by providing a hub for the camp.
Blank, 80, designated a portion of his donation for the construction of facilities for extended national teams, especially cerebral palsy, deaf and hard of hearing soccer teams, including locker rooms and facilities to train. The release also said that Blake’s contribution will improve “support for the national women’s youth team camps and initiatives to teach and mentor women.”
The release said support from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation will provide community programming to benefit soccer-focused non-profits in the Atlanta area, including Soccer in the Streets and GA 100 to provide access, training and opportunity to mentor underserved communities.
The 2022 fundraising email says the new facility will also include a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) innovation lab that will serve as “an incubator and funder for the best and most effective diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging projects that impact lives. and fuel change throughout the soccer landscape.”
“This National Training Center will accelerate the growth of soccer in the country and will represent a commitment to the development of elite soccer players for decades to come,” US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said in a statement. . “Investing in youth and adult programs as well as our Extended National Teams demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that players of all ages and backgrounds find a home and thrive in this game. These investments a signal to our players, coaches, referees, members and fans that the future of US Soccer is bright.
(Image: John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images for USSF).