For U.S. Soccer’s CEO, the World Cup stakes are bigger than a trophy

The World Cup arriving on American soil is more than a cultural moment. For U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson, it’s a launchpad. As group stage matches kick off, Batson reveals what’s on the line for the U.S. men’s team and why this tournament is nothing like the last time America hosted in 1994. And he makes the case that winning a World Cup and growing a soccer nation are the same mission. Whether you’ve got World Cup fever or not, Batson’s vision for building a winning culture from the ground up is a leadership story worth hearing. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by former Fast Company editor-in-chief Robert Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. The World Cup itself is FIFA’s tournament, not [the U.S. federation’s], even though the U.S., along with Canada and Mexico, is hosting. What does U.S. Soccer control? Is there an impact you have on the event itself, or is that up to FIFA? This is the first World Cup where FIFA is fully responsible for the operational delivery of the tournament. I’m sure many of the people who listen to this manage risk at their organization and think about that. For FIFA, the World Cup is the overwhelming percentage of its revenue, and so the idea that it would want to be operationally responsible for it makes sense. That’s allowed us to focus on three main things. You mentioned our team. Of course, we want to make sure our team is in the best position to be successful. Two, we want to make sure every American who wants to be part of this tournament can be part of it. We have lots of ways we’re doing that, from more than 500 Soccer Forward Fests all across the country. So think of those as watch parties plus play-soccer p