​The United States may command attention for its supremacy in basketball, American football, and a range of other sports, yet it remains far from the best in soccer. This discrepancy was stark during the 2026 World Cup, when the U.S. team fell 4-1 to Belgium, a squad that has seen a decline in quality over the past several years. Former USMNT star Landon Donovan has since proposed a fundamental obstacle: soccer in the United States is not affordable for many children from lower-income households.
In an interview with The Late Run, Donovan, who enjoyed a storied career at Everton, pointed to the financial barrier of playing club soccer as a child. He cited data showing that only about 2% of youth players came from households earning under $50,000 per year. He argued that this financial gatekeeping means the United States is missing out on a large portion of potential talent. “Only 2% of kids who were playing organized soccer in America came from households that made less than $50,000, meaning if you don’t make $50,000, your kid cannot play organized soccer and think about how many kids you’re missing out on in this country because they can’t afford to play the game,” he said.
Donovan also addressed the broader burden of sponsorship and funding. “Somebody has to pay for it. Someone has to pay for the coaches. I get it. But what’s happening now is clubs are just grinding every penny out of everyone, and growing up, there is zero chance I could have played club soccer. My mom made $34,000 a year, a single mom raising three kids. She couldn’t pay $4,000 for me to play club soccer. Are you kidding? She couldn’t pay $400. So, I would have had zero chance, but somebody let me on the team and paid for me. Otherwise, I couldn’t have. That’s not a good system to create good players. How do you create good players by doing that? You can’t.”
This perspective aligns with other reporting indicating that elite club fees in the United States now reach roughly $10,000 to $20,000 annually. The cost barrier reinforces Donovan’s point about soccer being prohibitively expensive for many families, a situation not typically mirrored in Europe or South America where the sport remains more accessible at youth levels. Those regions have historically produced stronger national teams, in part because a larger and more affordable talent pool can be cultivated from a young age.
Another factor to consider is the relative prominence of soccer within American sports culture. While football, basketball, and baseball dominate, soccer has not yet claimed a comparable share of the national spotlight or resources. Yet development begins with youngsters, and when a substantial portion of families is priced out of organized youth soccer, the pipeline to the next generation of stars becomes noticeably thinner.
Addressing these economic barriers could have a meaningful impact on the U.S. national team’s future prospects. Expanding access to affordable youth soccer, increasing subsidies or scholarships for participation, and encouraging community-based programs could help broaden the talent pool. If more children from varied socio-economic backgrounds can engage in organized soccer from a young age, the United States might begin to bridge the gap with traditional soccer powerhouses and bolster its competitiveness on the international stage.