WEBVTT - US Soccer CEO JT Batson Talks World Cup Business Growth

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's talk about what's going on, because I you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the Odd Lots podcast they're doing something and I was

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<v Speaker 2>reading in and they pointed out that the last time

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<v Speaker 2>the World Cup came to the US was back in

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen ninety four. Before then, the World Cup was an

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<v Speaker 2>enormously popular event with surprisingly limited commercial significance. Fast forward,

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<v Speaker 2>it is massive with the global audience and reaching. I

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<v Speaker 2>got to say it's one of the really world's most

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<v Speaker 2>watched global sports events. So leading the way forward with

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<v Speaker 2>US as j T. Batson, He's been CEO and Secretary

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<v Speaker 2>General of the US Soccer Federation since September of twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty two. He joins us from Los Angeles. JT. Great

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<v Speaker 2>to have you here. And then also with us as

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<v Speaker 2>our own Randall Williams. He's Bloomberg new senior reporter co

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<v Speaker 2>host of the Business of Sports podcast. He's here in

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<v Speaker 2>our New York studio. Great to have you here. You've

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<v Speaker 2>been tracking all the games in and out. I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>to let you ask the first question of JT. Because

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<v Speaker 2>you've been watching all of this stuff.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, let's start off pretty basic. Jac how happy

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<v Speaker 3>are you right now.

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<v Speaker 4>Definitely happy and based on everyone I keep running into

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<v Speaker 4>here in LA and my travels around the country, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>lots and lots of happy people here and they're excited

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<v Speaker 4>for the run we're on.

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<v Speaker 2>Are you surprised at how well it's going? You know

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<v Speaker 2>that there were a lot of stories leading up to

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<v Speaker 2>it about cost and access, and everybody here in the

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<v Speaker 2>New York metro was like, it's going to be a nightmare,

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<v Speaker 2>and it is a little tough moving around, but it

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<v Speaker 2>just seems to be going well, and everybody who's at

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<v Speaker 2>the games are just having a blast.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, the US is a soccer country. They are will

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<v Speaker 4>more than one hundred million people in America who are

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<v Speaker 4>fans of soccer, and of course we have such a

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<v Speaker 4>diverse country with people from all over the world, so

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<v Speaker 4>every team was going to feel welcome here. Everyone is

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<v Speaker 4>going to have an amazing time, and you know, people

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<v Speaker 4>are not seeing that all around the world.

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<v Speaker 1>It's pretty cool. Walking around the streets of New York.

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<v Speaker 1>You see Argentina jerseys on a day that Argentina's playing,

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<v Speaker 1>see Brazil jerseys all over even here at the office.

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<v Speaker 1>I sometimes am seeing jerseys this week, no question, World

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<v Speaker 1>Cup fever is hitting here in the streets of Brooklyn.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the weekend, they were selling all the jerseys that

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<v Speaker 1>were available for these countries around the world. They were

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<v Speaker 1>out of US jerseys in every size, And I think

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<v Speaker 1>that really speaks to the enthusiasm that we're seeing right now,

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<v Speaker 1>especially among kids. How do you translate that enthusiasm into

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<v Speaker 1>something sustainable for the US.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, A couple of things, you know. One is you're

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<v Speaker 4>right around the incredible demand for the US jerseys. They're iconic,

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<v Speaker 4>they are a ton of fun, and even though Nike

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<v Speaker 4>produced way more than they ever have before, they have

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<v Speaker 4>been you know, hot items all across the country, and

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<v Speaker 4>so it doesn't surprise me to hear about that in Brooklyn.

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<v Speaker 4>And I think, you know, more broadly, we view we

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<v Speaker 4>have now this World Cup, the la Olympics, and hopefully

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<v Speaker 4>the Women's Roll Cup in twenty thirty one to have

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<v Speaker 4>a similar impact on the growth of this sport as

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<v Speaker 4>we did ninety four, the Atlanta Olympics in ninety six

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<v Speaker 4>and then the Women's Roll Cup in ninety nine. And

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<v Speaker 4>if you think about what soccer is like in ninety

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<v Speaker 4>four relative to where we are now, imagine what it

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<v Speaker 4>could look like in the future with all this excitement,

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<v Speaker 4>and you know, we're excited about using this as a

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<v Speaker 4>way of getting more soccer in schools, getting soccer and

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<v Speaker 4>more communities across the country, getting more commercial investment in

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<v Speaker 4>our sport, getting more government film throughpic investment in our sport,

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<v Speaker 4>and so lots of exciting progress. And we know that

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<v Speaker 4>the best days for soccer in this country ahead.

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<v Speaker 1>I should clarify. I don't know if the woman's selling them.

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<v Speaker 1>They said Nike on them, Randall, I don't know if

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<v Speaker 1>they were official, official Nike gear. I just want to

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<v Speaker 1>clarify it.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's a good clarification point. I do wonder for you,

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<v Speaker 3>j T, what do you think the real impact of

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<v Speaker 3>this World Cup is on US soccer in comparison to

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<v Speaker 3>previous World Cups? Of course we had Qatar and South

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<v Speaker 3>Africa and so many other ones that created incredible memories.

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<v Speaker 3>But for you being here in the States, seeing you know,

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<v Speaker 3>the fans sing along in the arenas after and in

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<v Speaker 3>the stadiums after the US is won, what do you

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<v Speaker 3>think the real impact of this World Cup is going

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<v Speaker 3>to be on US soccer?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I think the for us, we've always viewed this

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<v Speaker 4>as an opportunity for one for Americans to fall in

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<v Speaker 4>love with his team, and I think they've done that,

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<v Speaker 4>and folks are excited. You know, being in the Seattle

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<v Speaker 4>Stadium when everyone was singing Country Roads was pretty special.

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<v Speaker 4>And I think, you know, the sort of collective energy

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<v Speaker 4>of that and the fifteen thousand people who all march

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<v Speaker 4>together to the game, just the pride, the passion has

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<v Speaker 4>been awesome. And then I think more broadly, we've always

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<v Speaker 4>viewed this summer as an opportunity in the World Cup

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<v Speaker 4>being here as an opportunity to get organizations, communities, individuals

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<v Speaker 4>to take the big steps forward to propel soccer in

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<v Speaker 4>this country. So as an example, before our first game

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<v Speaker 4>in La, we announced with La Unified School District that

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<v Speaker 4>they're committing to put soccer in every school. So it's

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<v Speaker 4>four hundred thousand kids who are now are going to

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<v Speaker 4>have access to soccer, and we're working with communities all

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<v Speaker 4>across the country to do that with our goal of

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<v Speaker 4>by twenty thirty two, every school in America having soccer.

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<v Speaker 4>And so it's those sort of movements, those sort of

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<v Speaker 4>you know, actions that you know, we believe or you

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<v Speaker 4>going to propel soccer forward for generations and generations to come.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, Jaj, I could congratulate you on US Soccer's two

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<v Speaker 3>wins here, but I could also congratulate you on your

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<v Speaker 3>contract extension, and I wonder you know you being locked

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<v Speaker 3>down long term for US Soccer. What is your vision

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<v Speaker 3>beyond the World Cup to make sure that this momentum,

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<v Speaker 3>this excitement around the game of football in soccer here

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<v Speaker 3>in the US continues.

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<v Speaker 4>So at US Soccer, we view our role as being

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<v Speaker 4>in service to soccer. We think our role is to

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<v Speaker 4>support those who are bringing soccer to life in communities

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<v Speaker 4>all across the country, and we have three generational ambitions.

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<v Speaker 4>We're focused on US Soccer success. So we want our

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<v Speaker 4>teams to win World Cups. We want US Soccer to

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<v Speaker 4>be everywhere. We want soccer to be the number one

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<v Speaker 4>played sport in every community, and we want US Soccer

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<v Speaker 4>to be yours. We want everyone who cares about our

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<v Speaker 4>sport to feel connected to US Soccer and to our sport.

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<v Speaker 4>And we're just getting started. There's a lot of work

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<v Speaker 4>to do to bring those to life at the scale

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<v Speaker 4>that match the ambition of our fans and everyone who

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<v Speaker 4>cares about us. And so I'm excited to be doing

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<v Speaker 4>this for the long haul, and you know, I'm looking

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<v Speaker 4>forward to you know, many many years of great progress ahead.

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<v Speaker 2>JT. Thirty seconds. When do you want to see the

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<v Speaker 2>World Cup hosted here again?

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<v Speaker 4>I love it always to be here. Of course, we

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<v Speaker 4>got the bises works in the world. Okay, We've got

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<v Speaker 4>the Women's World Cup bid in for twenty thirty one.

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<v Speaker 4>That's going to be spectacular. Will be the first time

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<v Speaker 4>forty eight teams will be in a Women's World Cup.

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<v Speaker 4>We will set a new standard for what all of

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<v Speaker 4>that can look like and there'll be a ton of fun.

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<v Speaker 2>So maybe in two years three years now, we.

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<v Speaker 4>Got the Olympics back in la Oh, Okay, so we

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<v Speaker 4>you know, want to win medals on the men's and

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<v Speaker 4>women's side there, so you know, we'll keep the party rolling.

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<v Speaker 2>Listen, this is really fun. Good luck and congratulations on

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<v Speaker 2>the event. Certainly has a lot of folks here in

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<v Speaker 2>Bloomberg and really around the New York metro area really

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<v Speaker 2>excited about these games. JT. Bats and CEO and Secretary

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<v Speaker 2>General of the US Soccer Federation, and of course are

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<v Speaker 2>sports expert one of them here unbelievable. Randall Williams. Bloomberg,

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<v Speaker 2>new senior report and co host of the Business of

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<v Speaker 2>Sports podcast, highly recommend. He's done some reporting Blue Owl

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<v Speaker 2>and advanced talks for a stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers,

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<v Speaker 2>so check it out on the Bloomberg