I get asked this a lot: Why has soccer not succeeded? My answer is, soccer has succeeded. It is already the fastest growing youth participation sport in the U.S. It has already succeeded at the youth level, no question.

The stadiums are like none I've ever seen. I think there must have been some strong competition nationally between Korea and Japan to make the best facilities because they are very well designed.

Well, we've made huge strides since the 1990 World Cup, USA '94, and obviously since '98. Unfortunately, those strides only register with the public once every four years.

We literally had all 10 teams alive for a playoff position in the final week of the season. That outstanding balance and those close races created a major surge in attendance in the last month of the season.

I know how quickly things can change in football, and I am only where I am because someone else lost their place.

When I left Carlisle United for the first time at the age of 16 in 2000, I hated football.

Norway has a great history of women's football, but it's harder now. We've stopped talking about development, and other countries have overtaken us.

Sports is something that transcends generations, transcends backgrounds, cultures, races. And so the power of sports is real.