US soccer’s youth system is expensive, chaotic and overdue for reform

The cost and fragmentation of the development system in the US have renewed questions over how the country identifies and nurtures young talent.Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesA few years ago, the idea that the US soccer community at large was neglecting youth soccer was met with silence or ridicule.At a May 2022 conference call announcing a new collective bargaining agreement that effectively ended the “equal pay” saga, players were asked how they would build bridges with grassr