U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson isn't backing Gianni Infantino. He's not opposing him either. But the careful, deliberate language he used on Tuesday suggests the federation is doing exactly what federations do when they're sizing up a power shift: staying quiet until the moment is right.
"We're looking forward to that discussion," Batson said, speaking at MLS headquarters in New York following the unveiling of incoming MLS commissioner Larry Berg. That discussion, he clarified, will happen at U.S. Soccer's September board meeting — where the question of who should lead FIFA will reportedly be on the agenda alongside broader visions for the global game.
The FFE collapse opened a door
The context here matters. Infantino arrived at that September board meeting as a man weakened. His FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal — a plan to bundle the men's and women's World Cups and Club World Cups into a subsidiary and sell roughly 20% to private investors — was dead within days of being announced. The lead investor was Thrive Eternal, a holding company run by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared is Donald Trump's son-in-law. UEFA, Concacaf, and the AFC all rejected it loudly.
U.S. Soccer stood with Concacaf. Concacaf then went further, questioning FIFA's leadership outright. Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is reportedly considering a direct challenge to Infantino ahead of March's election, where Infantino is currently running unopposed — though the deadline for candidates to declare is November.
England and Wales have already pulled their backing. Qatar and Morocco have reaffirmed theirs. The math that once showed Infantino with roughly 200 of FIFA's 211 member associations in his corner is starting to shift, and the U.S. — co-hosting the 2026 World Cup on home soil — carries real weight in any such calculation.
Batson confirmed only that protections exist in Pochettino's contract for "both sides" if either wants to exit early, describing them simply as "material." Whether that clause ever gets tested depends on what happens at a home World Cup that is now, officially, Pochettino's to own.
Pochettino's extended role goes well beyond the senior team
Earlier on Tuesday, Batson met with U.S. Soccer COO Dan Helfrich, Pochettino, and longtime assistant Jesus Perez. The meeting was the first formal step following Pochettino's contract extension through the 2030 World Cup — a deal that expands his responsibilities into an advisory capacity covering youth pathways, coaching structures, and long-term men's team development.
"For us to win World Cups, we know a lot of things have to be true," Batson said. "We have to have great coaches, we have to have great youth pathways, we have to have great clubs."
Pochettino isn't alone in that work. Women's national team head coach Emma Hayes is also involved in the youth pathway conversation, and Arsene Wenger — FIFA's chief of global football development — has been collaborating with U.S. Soccer on a technical development strategy that hasn't been formally announced yet. The ambition is real. The structure is still being built.
- Pochettino extended through the 2030 World Cup, with advisory duties on youth development
- Emma Hayes and Arsene Wenger are also involved in shaping U.S. Soccer's technical strategy
- U.S. Soccer's September board meeting will address FIFA's presidential election
- Concacaf's Montagliani is considering challenging Infantino ahead of the March vote
- England and Wales have withdrawn support for Infantino; Qatar and Morocco have reaffirmed theirs
"I know from the moment we announced Mauricio, there are lots of folks skeptical that they actually were committed," Batson said. "I'm incredibly excited that this summer, they got to see the Mauricio and staff that we all do."
The 2026 World Cup on U.S. soil is no longer a distant event — it's the defining deadline for everything Batson is describing. Whether FIFA's leadership looks the same by the time that tournament kicks off is now a genuinely open question.
