Henry Bushnell

Soccer fans are afraid. ICE and CBP say they're part of the Club World Cup security operation... but “how can we trust it's really for security?” one fan asked. “It just really feels like they're setting up a trap," he told me. So, he and others are staying home. sports.yahoo.com/soccer/artic...

So, after 8 years(!) at Yahoo Sports, some news… I’m joining the superteam at The Athletic (@theathletic.com). 🧵...

Annual reminder that, for all the talk of “hostile” environments, U.S.-Mexico games are mostly just a really cool, unique celebration of this sport

News: U.S. Soccer is restructuring its sporting department. - no classic "sporting director" - Poch and Hayes report straight to CEO - two new "directors of soccer" — one on men's/boys' side, one women's/girls' — will oversee the pathway to USMNT and WNT More, free to read @theathletic.com:

U.S. Youth Soccer members today voted overwhelmingly (not unanimously) in favor of the bylaw amendment, multiple sources tell @theathletic.com. Beginning Sept. 1, U.S. Soccer will effectively take control of USYS, with a view toward fully absorbing the org by 2028. More ⬇️

U.S. Soccer is on the verge of taking over the U.S. Youth Soccer Association. A significant, historic step toward a re-wiring of America's youth soccer system — but one that comes with many unknowns. News, details, explanations, etc. free to read @theathletic.com:

Now official: Mauricio Pochettino is back. Contract agreed with U.S. Soccer through 2030. More — including comments from Poch on his approach to a second cycle with the USMNT — here and free to read @theathletic.com:

From ticketing to the halftime show, FIFA made the 2026 World Cup an intensely American one. The question, now, is whether it will try to make some of these changes/choices permanent...

Lots of youth soccer discourse in the aftermath of the USMNT's World Cup exit. So, I wrote about "pay-to-play" — what it actually is, why it's a problem, why it's different in the U.S. vs. elsewhere, & why the real issue is "pay-to-travel-and-play." Free to read (ironically...) @theathletic.com:

Sources (w/ James Horncastle & @paultenorio.bsky.social): Christian Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and microfracture of his tibia/fibula in USMNT's loss to Belgium, sidelined for several weeks. More @theathletic.com:

On the end. The sudden, soul-crushing, inexplicable end.

Almost 4 hours before kickoff, the main line to enter Lumen Field for USMNT-Belgium stretched halfway around the stadium. Took me 6 minutes to walk it. Thousands also roaming the surrounding streets, or packing bars and public squares to watch Spain-Portugal. Amazing scene.

For weeks, even after his red card, Folarin Balogun was the smiling face of a happy, unifying World Cup story. Now he's the unwitting, blameless face of controversy. And that story, of the USMNT's magical run, has irreversibly changed. Column @theathletic.com: