Eric Wynalda Calls Out Pay-to-Play and Builds His Own Academy | OneFootball

Eric Wynalda spoke with Urban Pitch about his approach to youth development with the Wynalda Soccer Academy, and in typical “Waldo” fashion, the former USMNT striker was an open book and did not hold back.

Eric Wynalda has never been shy about challenging the system. The former United States men’s national team leading scorer and three-time World Cup veteran has long been one of the most outspoken voices within U.S. Soccer, weighing in on everything from MLS and the national team to the deeper flaws of youth development in America.

Frustrated by the entrenched pay-to-play model, Wynalda is now putting his ideas into action through the Wynalda Soccer Academy in Las Vegas: a project aimed at rescuing talented players who have been overlooked or priced out of the system. For Wynalda, the academy is not just an alternative pathway, but a blueprint for how youth development should be approached in the modern game.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Wynalda Soccer Academy (@wynaldasocceracademy)

By assembling hand-picked prospects in a professional, freedom-driven environment, he challenges the belief that rigid academy structures are the only route to elite development. In a sit-down interview with Urban Pitch, Wynalda details his vision, how he believes talent should be cultivated, and what he hopes to achieve long-term with the Wynalda Soccer Academy.

Urban Pitch: In a nutshell what is Wynalda Soccer Academy about? What are you looking to achieve?

Eric Wynalda: The academy is intentionally unconventional. When people hear “academy,” they picture a residential setup where players live, train, and do everything together. That’s not what this is.

The idea started about 15 years ago, when I realized there wasn’t enough being done for talented players who were either overlooked by the system or couldn’t afford to be in it. Back then, it was older players, 22- and 23-year-olds coming out of college, still good enough to play, but with no clear path forward. That group became Cal FC. We financed our way into a legitimate competition so those players could prove themselves, and they did, most famously beating the Portland Timbers in the Open Cup, the first amateur team to do that in 115 years. Many of those players went on to have professional and international careers.

After COVID, the project went dormant, but it was revived more recently through my work in Las Vegas and with my own son, who’s 16. While coaching locally, I kept noticing talented players from all over the country — California, Arizona, New Mexico, Seattle — kids who stood out but didn’t quite fit into the existing system. That’s when it made sense to bring the academy back, this time focused on 16- and 17-year-olds, the most critical and often mishandled stage of development in the U.S.

We put together a hand-picked group and created the most professional environment we could, then took them to Europe. The results spoke for themselves: wins against Leverkusen, Kassel, and top Belgian academies, without losing a match. The players were given freedom to express themselves, not forced into rigid systems.

When we returned, people questioned whether it would translate against elite MLS academies. We played the LA Galaxy and won convincingly. That’s when the bigger question emerged: how can a group of players who don’t live together, don’t train year-round, and aren’t part of an official academy look so organized so quickly?

It challenges the idea that development requires total control. I didn’t teach them a system— I built a team based on complementary skill sets and let them play. The interest from Europe has been overwhelming, with offers already on the table and more trips planned.

At its core, this is about creating opportunities for players who would otherwise be missed, and giving them back the joy of the game.

You’ve been outspoken about the pay-to-play model and how it treats youth soccer as a business, while your academy focuses on players who fall through the cracks. People inside U.S. Soccer often say that if a player is good enough, the system will find him and money won’t be an issue. Do you believe that’s true? 

The idea that “if a player is good enough, we’ll find him” ignores a bigger problem: what if the moment he’s found is also the moment his development is damaged? What if the people tasked with developing him don’t actually know how? Wearing a badge or working at an academy doesn’t automatically make someone an expert. What if their ideas are wrong, and the player pays the price?

I’m tired of kids being told how to get somewhere by people who’ve never been there themselves. It makes no sense. And I’ll say it plainly: I’m also tired of failed coaches from Europe or South America coming here, leaning on an accent and a résumé, and being treated like geniuses. Too often, they’re not helping. They’re taking advantage of an industry that pays them well while our kids suffer for it.

I tried to change the system from the top. I ran for U.S. Soccer president in 2018 and learned quickly that there’s too much politics and corruption to fix everything at once. So now I focus on what I can control: the room I’m in. That’s what the academy is. It’s not about ego, it’s about experience. I know what a good player looks like. I know how to build a team. And I’m done pretending I’m not allowed to say that.

What we’re offering is real preparation for the next level, because we’ve been there. We’re not guessing or following trends. We’re giving players the freedom to become who they’re supposed to be, not forcing them into a coach’s preferred system. That’s the beauty of the game, and it’s exactly what too many academies get wrong. A rigid “philosophy” isn’t development; it’s often just a cover for coaches who don’t truly know how to teach.

U.S. Soccer continues to appoint youth coaches with little profile or playing pedigree, while former players from your generation, and those who actually succeeded at the highest levels, remain largely outside the coaching circles of the program. Why do you think U.S. Soccer continues to overlook former elite players for youth coaching roles, and do you see a real path for voices like yours to gain influence? How do we move away from rigid academy “methodologies” toward coaching players to their strengths, not systems?

There’s a lot in that question, but it all comes back to the same issue. I’ve always been labeled as “difficult,” but the people who’ve actually worked with me will tell you the opposite. The understanding that football doesn’t work when a coach forces an idea onto players who don’t fit it.

Modern football has shown us that rigid control doesn’t produce great players. I cringe when coaches call themselves “professors” or “teachers of the game.” The game is the teacher. My job is to create the environment and let players learn who they are. Too often, coaches interrupt that process because they already have an idea of what a player should be, instead of listening to what the player is showing them.

You see it at the highest level. Scaloni understood that with Messi, the system had to adapt to the player, not the other way around. It was the same with Maradona. When you have a genius, everyone else adjusts. You don’t coach the creativity out of him, you protect it. Those moments of brilliance only happen if players still feel free enough to try the difficult thing.

I’ve seen what happens when that freedom is taken away. We had a young player who was electric going forward, but an MLS academy turned him into a right back for a year. When he came back, he was miserable. He didn’t even recognize himself as a footballer anymore. We took him to Europe, put him back in a role that suited him, and within minutes he scored a spectacular goal. His confidence came back instantly.

Later, in training, he missed shots, badly. But instead of punishing him for it, we encouraged him. Because trying something special and failing is still better than playing it safe every time. The very next game, he scored again. That’s football.

Too often in this country, coaches see mistakes as reasons to bench players, not opportunities to teach or build confidence. That’s how creativity dies. We end up coaching kids to be safe, obedient, and predictable, and then we wonder why we produce so many average players.

If we want something better, we have to stop coaching systems first and start coaching players. Let them fail. Let them try. That’s the only way greatness survives.

The World of Youth Soccer Today

With pickup soccer and street football largely disappearing, what do you think the future of youth development looks like? Do you see the game moving more toward small-sided formats like indoor or five-a-side to replace what kids once learned playing freely in the streets?

I think there’s a big misunderstanding, especially in the U.S., that great facilities create great players. They don’t. Just because the field is perfect, the gear is expensive, and everything is organized doesn’t mean a kid is actually learning how to play. That’s not how football works.

Look at someone like Luka Modrić. He grew up as a refugee and didn’t even play on grass until he was 16. We love those stories, but then we turn around and act like kids need pristine fields, elite coaches, and top equipment just to understand the game. The truth is, players learn because they want to play, not because everything is set up for them.

A big part of development is desire. There’s a huge difference between a kid who has to be driven across town for practice and one who can’t wait to get back on the ball once practice is over. When I was growing up in California, we played barefoot in the park across the street. Four-on-four, makeshift goals, the softest ball we could find. That’s where I learned the game. I tried things I’d never try in an organized setting, and I felt connected to the ball and the ground in a very natural way.

After breakfast on Saturdays, I’d ask my friends if they wanted to play again later that day. Most didn’t. But Cobi Jones and I always did. We’d juggle, play one-on-one, sprint, work on whatever we felt like working on. No coach, no structure, just desire. That’s where the difference was made.

I see it now with my own kids. If a kid comes home and immediately starts kicking a ball against the fence, working on his touch or his weaker foot, you don’t interrupt that. You don’t coach it. You let it happen. That’s real learning.

I used to pass the ball for hours against the steps inside my house, trying to control the rebound without letting it pop up. I wasn’t told to do that. I challenged myself. And those little moments add up.

So yes, we’re losing street soccer, and it’s hard to replace. But the real issue isn’t space or structure, it’s whether kids still want the ball badly enough to seek it out on their own. If that desire is there, development will happen. If it’s not, no facility in the world can manufacture it.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Wynalda Soccer Academy (@wynaldasocceracademy)

You work closely with younger generations of players, and there’s a noticeable shift happening. Many kids today, even some professionals, play the game but don’t really watch it the way past generations did. Have you noticed this trend, and do you think not watching football affects how players understand the game or develop their instincts?

For a lot of players today, they simply don’t watch the game anymore. Football becomes a job, not something they’re curious about. And at a certain point, especially with older professionals, you’re not going to change that. If someone has played 300 games without ever watching football, that habit is already set.

The real opportunity is at the youth level. But even then, you can’t force it. You can’t make kids watch games, and the moment it feels like school, you’ve already lost them. All you can do is observe their behavior. If a player doesn’t want to engage with the game outside of training, that usually tells you something, and that’s okay. Not everyone is a footballer at heart.

The best example I have is my own son. When he was four, he already had a ball at his feet all the time. One day he sat next to me while I was watching a match and asked what it was. I told him it was soccer, and he said he loved it. So I made it a game. I told him to watch and see if he could figure out who the best player was.

I left the room a few times, answered the phone, did other things. He didn’t move for 45 minutes. It was a Barcelona match. At halftime, I asked him who he liked. I expected him to say Messi. Instead, he said, “Number eight.” Iniesta. He said Messi was great, but he didn’t think he could play like him. He liked the way Iniesta played.

That moment stuck. Years later, when we were setting up a new phone for him, his password was still “Iniesta8.” And when you watch him play now, you see it. He’s a right-footed left winger who loves to create, assist, and solve problems, very much in that mold.

So yes, kids don’t watch the game like they used to. But the ones who truly love football will find their way to it. You can encourage it, you can model it, you can ask questions, but you can’t force passion. They have to want it.

Vegas, Baby

What’s soccer culture like in Las Vegas? What do we need to know about Vegas and its growing sports scene?

I don’t think Las Vegas is all that different from other talent hotbeds. There’s plenty of ability here. The problem is that too many people are trying to capitalize on it instead of develop it. The focus too often becomes, “How do I make money off this player?” rather than, “How do I put this player in the best position to succeed?”

Because the country is so big, you see the same issue in a lot of cities like Las Vegas, especially places without a strong professional presence. We have the Las Vegas Lights, but they haven’t really connected with the community in a meaningful way. There’s no local figure kids can point to and say, “That’s one of us. That’s the path.”

So there are a few layers to the problem, and Las Vegas can’t pretend it’s innocent. We share the blame. Too much energy is spent fighting over the wrong things: player registrations, turf wars, coaching egos, while the actual goal, making players better, gets pushed to the side.

MLS’ Calendar Change and What it Means for Youth Soccer

You were one of the voices pushing for MLS to switch to a European-style calendar, and that change is now coming. How do you see this calendar change shaping youth development and the professional landscape in the post–World Cup era, and what challenges or opportunities do you think it creates?

From a business perspective, this was never about reinventing the wheel. The wheel already exists, and it works. Other countries have more than 100 years of experience running the game this way. Yes, some leagues like Norway or Denmark adjust their calendars because of extreme cold, but that’s not the point here.

The real question is simple: does it make sense, as a business, to play your most important matches in terrible weather, when fewer people are watching? You’re deciding champions in snow or freezing conditions, where games can be defined by a slip rather than quality. That doesn’t help the players, and it doesn’t help the product. We’ve been lucky at times with markets like Miami or Vancouver, but we’ve also had finals in places like Toronto or Kansas City. This isn’t the NFL and it’s not the Ice Bowl. Football is different.

There’s also the media and commercial reality. In the U.S., you’re competing with college football, the NFL, baseball, and basketball. By the time MLS reaches the end of its season, advertisers have already spent their money elsewhere. Finishing the season at the right time creates excitement, opens a real financial window, and gives sponsors a product people can actually watch, because there’s less competition.

From a footballing perspective, it also aligns MLS with the global transfer market. Players can finish their season at a logical moment and then move on. In the past, transfers were chaotic. A club could lose a key player in June or July with no time to replace him, leaving coaches scrambling days before a match. That made no sense as the league grew and salaries increased.

As more money entered MLS, owners started asking tougher questions. When you’re investing hundreds of millions into a franchise, you want to operate within the real business of football. That pressure eventually led the league in this direction because, quite simply, the logic is undeniable.

I understand the hesitation. You have to see it, feel it, and live it. But a few years down the line, I think most people will recognize this was the right move. Like I’ve said before — I’m not wrong, I’m just early.

Interview lightly edited for clarity and brevity.