Philadelphia is one of 11 U.S. cities preparing to host games during the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer CEO Chris Branscome has been involved from the start in bringing the event to Philly, and we talked to him about the bid process, preparations and excitement that goes into hosting World Cup matches.
With a background in US Youth Soccer that includes time as a player, coach, national staff member and state association leader, Branscome also discussed the advancement he’s seen in the game and culture, and the major opportunity that awaits in 2026.
What has your role been with Philadelphia Soccer 2026 and when did you begin working with the group?
Going back to 2017, when it was first announced that there would be a bid put in between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, I immediately got involved. I’m on the advisory board of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, so we were immediately on the phone with each other saying, “We’re going to do this, right?”
So yes, from the very beginning I was part of that with the CVB. Then, when we formally became a bid committee, from 2018 to 2022, there was the formal bid period. I was officially part of that, and Eastern Pennsylvania [Youth Soccer] was one of the founding members of the bid, along with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Union and the CVB.
When we won the bid and were announced in June 2022, we transitioned into a host committee as Philadelphia Soccer 2026. I’ve had a lot of different names and formal and informal titles over the years, but we jokingly call me the “Chief Soccer Guy.” I’ve been director of soccer operations at one time or another, but I think “soccer guy” works, as well as being an advisor.
During the bid, what was that process like and how confident was the group that Philadelphia would be chosen?
We were always confident we would be in the mix. We feel very strongly about the city and our hospitality industry, the stadium, the participation of the Philadelphia Eagles. We had government support. So, we had everything that that was necessary, but we were never going to take it for granted because we didn’t get it in 1994.
We worked hard right up until the last day. I believe it was June 15, 2022, when we had a few thousand people in Love Park right outside City Hall. We had the big screen TVs, and we had two sets of speeches ready, but we felt very strongly that we would be giving the positive one to the audience that day.
Did the fact the World Cup will be taking place during the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence become part of the pitch to Philadelphia hosting? And what does that all happening at once add to the experience this summer?
Philadelphia is the birthplace of the United States, and everything happened at Independence Hall on the Fourth of July, 1776.
Having both events concurrently was always something at the forefront of our presentation and how we wanted to show the world what a great city Philadelphia is. I must add that the city also has the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and we’ve got the PGA Championship. The Fourth of July is always a big event here, but this is the big one. And when we presented everything to FIFA, we certainly played up that aspect of it. How could we not?
It’s going to be a real special day because there are only two games that day, and we feel pretty sure that the focus will be on the Philadelphia game. We have all these great celebrations. They just announced that Pope Leo is going to be getting the Liberty Medal, which is a big thing that Philadelphia does every year. I don’t know that he’s coming to the city, but he is a Villanova graduate like me, so I’d love to have the Pope come home for that day. We’re pretty sure the president will put that on his agenda to pop in for the afternoon.
So, it will be very busy. I think we’re going to tear our hair out leading up to the event, but after it’s all over, we’re going to know it was it was absolutely the right thing to do and will be remembered for a long time.
Were cities able to request certain game dates, or was getting a game on July 4 just by chance?
The overall sense of the semi quincentennial having to be a part of our pitch, and with July 4 being an important day… We did not intentionally try to ask for a game that day, but I think FIFA just kind of heard loud and clear that would be a special thing to do.
What has been the most interesting aspect of bringing the games to Philadelphia and planning for the World Cup?
My perspective is certainly going to be about how the game is affected. As I’ve said to the rest of my colleagues at Philadelphia Soccer 26, “Let’s not forget the soccer in the soccer tournament.” They are, as they should be, looking at it as a major citywide, national event, but I don’t want to forget that it is the world’s most important soccer tournament, and that’s important for all of our players and fans — to see this spectacle in their home stadium in their home city because there’s nothing like it.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have been at a World Cup in a foreign country. So, I get it. A lot of other people are not going to understand it until it happens. That’s something I’m thankful for and happy that my neighbors and the Philadelphia citizenry are going to get to see something that I know is special. I hope that they adopt the sport in the same way. We’re going to create new fans for sure, but, of course, I want to make sure we create some new players, coaches and referees along with it.
During the bid process, FIFA came to Philadelphia, and I was on a panel with several other city leaders. I remember the fire chief, the police chief, people from city council, and I’m sitting up there with them. When the question was asked, “What does this mean to you?” I said, “Well, it means everything.”
And that answer still holds true today. The most important thing was that all those people I was on stage with — who had maybe never thought about soccer in any other way than a game kids play in the neighborhood — they were now learning about the size and scope of international football and what this event can mean to a city financially and socially. They were now aware, so I would not be re-describing our world and our culture to someone in the same way anymore. I knew that they were going to get it, and they do. It’s way different now than where we were eight years ago when this all started.
Will you have a role during the games, or will you get to be in fan mode?
I think that’s yet to be determined. Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer is a partner in this, and we will participate in the fan festival. We’re helping to make sure there’s a very fun and active soccer presence there, so it’s not just food trucks and music and beverages. We want to make sure it’s family friendly and that kids have something to do. We know when you put some kind of cool, fun interactive game, kids and adults want to join in. So, we’ll be doing that for the 39 days of the fan festival.
There are things we’re doing as a state association to make sure our fans and members are engaged in different ways, and I’ve been active in the planning and working with other groups on protocol, fan engagement, and the activity of the different associations. Ivory Coast is training here at Subaru Park, so how do we engage with that group? We have Brazil, France, Ghana, Croatia, Ecuador, Haiti, so all those different cultural groups from within our area, as well as when those fans come in.
What I end up doing on a game day, I don’t know yet, but I really wouldn’t mind just being a fan for the day because we work in this sport every day and it’s hard to separate ourselves from the management and administration of soccer. I look forward to those moments where I can be a fan like everybody else. I do have some tickets to the local games. Fortunately, I’m also going to go see the U.S. play in Los Angeles. I’m definitely going to take part like a fan where and when I can.
Of all the countries playing a game in Philadelphia, is there one you’re most looking forward to seeing or think will really connect with everyone around the city?
We’ve got big teams like Brazil, France and Croatia coming. That’s awesome, right? So, I think that’s going to create some new fans for people. I experienced the Brazilians at the French World Cup in 1998, and it’s just so fun. My wife and I got swept into an impromptu celebration at a Brazilian bank that was near our hotel and that was so much fun. I know something like that’s going to happen here, and that’s why I keep trying to tell people those things — the impromptu celebrations from the fans — will pop up. There’s going to be some kind of organized event that all the supporter clubs will do that will be great, too. But it’s when you randomly walk into a restaurant and you find the French fans, the Croatian fans, the Brazilians — that’s going to be a blast.
I am going to see France play. I already got tickets for that one because I just think they have a great team, an entertaining team, and we don’t even know who they’re playing yet. I’m just looking forward to the overall excitement and other people joining into the culture we already know and however else we can help or entertain or educate. That’s one of the other things we’re trying to do — I just want everyone to get out and watch the games, celebrate with whoever at home, get your clubs together and find a watch party.
From your viewpoint as CEO of EPYSA, is there any specific impact you’d like to see from the event?
It’s interesting for me because this is my 50th year in the game. I started playing in 1976, and Pele had just come to America. So, I’m a child of that era and that soccer boom. We’ve had some others along the way — the1994 World Cup, of course, and MLS starting. And then the 1999 and 2003 Women’s World Cups. Then when Beckham came and then when Messi came. This is clearly one of those milestone moments, and we’ll look back and ask, “What did we do? What did we make happen out of that?”
I didn’t think 50 years ago that I’d be sitting here in this role and having this part in the game. To me, there’s that opportunity for some other young boy or girl that just enters the game this year. Or for the ones that just started it and think, “OK, there’s so much more opportunity than I thought I would ever have.” Soccer was kind of looked down on in 1976, but we’re now part of the culture. Soccer is accepted. We’re one of the largest youth sports in the country. We have MLS and the NWSL.
All that being said, yes, I want to see the growth of the game. What boom is going to be created so that five years from now, when we host the Women’s World Cup, what milestones will we see how we’ve really changed the trajectory of the sport and how we were able to grow?
We’re a more mature soccer country than in 1994, but I think we’ve kind of plateaued a little bit and things have changed in our world. So, how do we take this moment and really shoot for higher goals and how do we get more kids into the game?
We’re really focusing on the 5- to 9-year-olds — kids that may not have considered it, but they’re going to be watching this with their parents. Maybe they’ll see all that fun the Brazilians might kick up when they’re here. How could you not get a little excited about that? They may say, “I want to play this game like those guys.” So, that’s the most important thing to me.
We’re naturally going to get more kids. But how do we take advantage of that? How do we make it more than an organic blip and turn it into a long-term opportunity and really grow the game? My lasting wish is that we really, truly develop more fans of the game, more kids that want to play it. Our role is to make sure that we show that you can play at any level and there’s a place for you. We’re going to accept you, and you can play this game as long as you want to. You can be a fan of the game as long as you want to.
We had our annual meeting two weeks ago, and the message I gave everybody is: “Do not turn any child away this year. Your goal is to find a place for every child that wants to play soccer. Don’t use reasons or excuses, like ‘We did sign-ups in April. We already bought our uniforms.’”
We’re going to have things in place where we’re there to help. If you need a grant to help buy some more uniforms, or you need our staff to come in and train these new volunteer parents that need to coach in order to have a team. We want to make sure that you can’t say no this year. You have to say yes because if we turn one away, we may have turned that kid or that family off forever. And that’s not the opportunity that we’re looking for. We have to be much more positive about this. The harder work will come later when more kids want to join, but now’s the time to get ready for it.
Looking back at your journey, can you explain what your role was when you worked at the US Youth Soccer national office?
My professional goals were to work in sports. There was really no professional soccer by the time I was graduating college in the late 1980s. I worked mostly in college sports right out of school. My first entry really into professional soccer was the American Professional Soccer League as director of operations for the A-League for a full season. From there, I became the general manager of the Chicago Power in the indoor league — the NPSL — and then left Chicago to go to the Philadelphia KiXX when we were a brand new start-up team in the NPSL in 1995.
I was back in the college world for a little after that, and that’s when I went to US Youth Soccer in 2002. I was director of marketing and communications, and it was really a brand-new department. I was given the opportunity by executive director Jim Cosgrove to grow it and really turn it into something. They weren’t doing the things that you see today, at all.
We brought in more staff. We redeveloped the website, and we started the television show on Fox Soccer Channel. We brought the sponsorship in house, and we were able to sell a variety of really great sponsorships to some great partners that allowed us to expand what we could do as a national organization. We really focused on the branding, and we wanted people to know who US Youth Soccer was on a national scale.
What I gained during that time was an understanding of what soccer was like in all 50 states. What is soccer like in Alaska and Hawaii? I didn’t know until I met those people. Soccer in Idaho, Montana, Maine, New Hampshire, North Texas… I gained a better appreciation of what everybody was dealing with and the focus on growing the game — how we all communicate and interact with each other to try to move things forward in this country.
My time at US Youth Soccer was definitely important and special in my development as a person, as a professional and certainly with all the different friendships and colleagues that I developed in that time, and so many of them still last today.
Now as CEO for EPYSA, what do you think is the biggest benefit of working alongside that group of state association leaders?
I think there are multiple benefits. On a personal level, it is the people you come in contact with and make friendships on a personal and professional level. I can say I literally have friends in every state of the country right now. If I was to pick up and leave and go somewhere else, I know there’s people I could turn to in just about every state.
I have benefited from some of the different people, professionally. Things that they bring to the table in the discussions, and I’ve had several great conversations over time with, you know, people from various states and parts of the country. Those set the table for things that I know and have learned. The benefit is just all that experience, and those conversations help me navigate this job and help form my theories and thoughts on how we should grow the game and be stewards of the game. And perhaps that’s the biggest benefit as a lifelong soccer player, coach, parent, administrator — I get to have a hand in shaping the current status of the sport, as well as what it’s going to be the for the future when I step aside.
Just yesterday, I was in in New York City, and I met with the British Consulate because of events that are going to take place in Philadelphia and some things that we’re going to do. Why would a youth soccer administrator meet with the British Consulate? Well, there’s a lot of good reasons why, and having that opportunity is a benefit. We can grow the sport in other ways, and I think what we’ve done here with the World Cup is the obvious example to take youth soccer to a new level. We can have influence in a city or region from a cultural aspect, as well as a sports aspect. I think that benefits the kids and the families in a larger sense. Maybe we’re not in the same breath as the Philadelphia Eagles, Sixers, Flyers, Phillies or Union, but we’re in the room in those conversations. We’re in the room in those planning sessions. And I think that is what’s elevated the sport.
Tying in what you’ve seen in the past to what you expect this summer, what do you think will be the biggest change for a foreign fan who was here in 1994 compared to what they will see in 2026?
I think one of the obvious things that foreign fans will notice when they come to America this time, as opposed to 1994, is that the American soccer fans are as knowledgeable as they are. They will see kids or adults walking the streets in jerseys of their favorite teams and players, whereas if they came in 1994, we didn’t even have great access to buy those kind of things. You didn’t have the ability to watch games. Today, we can see soccer on TV constantly.
We have soccer fans of all ages who are knowledgeable and they outwardly show it. And you’ll see American kids running around in Vini Jr. shirts when the Brazilians are here or Mbappe shirts or Luka Modric shirts. Visitors are going to be surprised to run into somebody on the street and say, “Oh, you live here? We thought you might be someone who traveled from home like we did.” Back in 1994, that really wasn’t the case. And I think a lot of the Americans that went to the games wanted to see the spectacle of this event, just like you might go to an Olympics. They weren’t going because they were soccer fans because we had a very small soccer culture at the time.
Last question — other than a cheesesteak, what is a one food a fan traveling to Philadelphia for a game needs to try while in town?
The soft pretzel was not invented here, but maybe perfected here. So yeah, the cheesesteak, the soft pretzel, ice cream was invented here. Soda was invented here. Ben Franklin had a part in a bunch of those.
We’ve got so many other foods. I think just that’s the experience, you know, getting yourself a pretzel — at Wawa perhaps, or any other vendor. A hoagie would probably be the other thing. Cheesesteaks and hoagies go hand-in-hand. Italian hoagies would be my choice. I’m not the foodie necessarily. If my wife was answering this, she’d list off several other things.
No water ice shoutout? It could be refreshing in June.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And say it correctly. It’s “wooder ice.”
