HISTORY
U.S. SOCCER HISTORY
Originally founded in 1913 as the United States Football Association, U.S. Soccer was one of the world’s first organizations to be affiliated with FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, and has grown into one of the sport’s organizational leaders, integrating player participation and player development into arguably the world’s most successful top-to-bottom National Team program.
As part of the evidence, U.S. Soccer’s National Team programs qualified for 19 consecutive FIFA outdoor world championships before the Under-23 national team missed out on the Olympics in 2004.
Part of that “framework” was unveiled in 2003 when U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center opened at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. After 90 years of nurturing player participation and player development, U.S. Soccer’s player development initiatives finally have a home of their own in the $130 million facility, which includes a stadium for Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy and Chivas USA.
U.S. SOCCER FEDERATION – What’s in a name?
Throughout the 90-year history of U.S. Soccer, the organization has been known by three different names:
U.S. Football Association - 1913-1944
U.S. Soccer Football Association - 1945-1973
U.S. Soccer Federation - 1974-Current