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PODCAST

Founding Futbol

Founding Futbol is a weekly podcast that explores soccer’s journey in America, analyzing how key moments in the sport’s history have contributed to its rising level of popularity. The show features research and expert guests as it breaks down 52 key events that have influenced growth of soccer in the United States. Host Kent Malmros combines narrated research with long-form interviews in each episode. Founding Futbol will provide in-depth analysis on topics such as Title IX, Pelé’s time in New York,

sports soccer

All Episodes

01:09:08

Epilogue: Why Founding Futbol (with Kendall Malmros)

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/28

When Founding Futbol began, over a year ago, it was intended to be a year-long project exploring 52 key moments that helped soccer become popular in America. There was, by definition, a beginning, middle and end to the the series. The vision was to research those moments and present a point of view on their relevance, alongside interviews from people involved. It quickly evolved to become more ambitious, with Extra Time episodes featuring additional conversations with key figured in American soccer

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00:52:58

Extra Time: The Passion of Asli Pelit

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/24

Asli Pelit came to the US to study journalism, but quickly realized she missed the soccer culture she gew up with in Turkey. In search of a way to combine her passion for the beautiful game and her desire to tell stories, Asli traveled to South America to learn more about the obsession with great "number 10s." That was among her first exposure to the cult of Lionel Messi. That work launched her career as a soccer writer. She subsequently went on to write about soccer for various outlets, including

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00:54:30

Extra Time: Safid Deen, Lionel Messi Reporter

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/21

The story of Lionel Messi coming to America to play for Inter Miami of MLS was so big, that USA Today decided to dedicate an entire job to just that beat. Safid Deen is that reporter. After a long and successful career covering more traditional American sports -- like basketball and American football both at the professional and college level, Deen had the opportunity to cover Messi and jumped at it. Located in Miami, Deen has seen and covered the the sports scene in that city for years. That has

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01:01:00

Extra Time: Michelle Kaufman Talks Messi to Miami

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/17

Lionel Messi's decision to join Inter Miami of Major League Soccer had historical precedent on many levels. Despite it's failure, the first MLS team in Miami -- the Fusion -- attempted to harness the unique location and demographic makeup of the south Florida to the benefit of soccer in America. With a strong connection to Latin America, stars like Carlos Valderrama wore Fusion colors in an attempt to create fan interest and help grow the game in the United States. While those elements felt

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01:14:33

Chapter Fifty-Two: Messi Comes to MLS (with Paul...

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/14

Lionel Messi is widely considered the great soccer player of all-time. His accomplishments are virtually unrivaled. His counting stats in many was are incomprehensible. Messi's long career primarily with Barcelona, at the club level, and Argentina, internationally, have built him a fan following second to none on the history of professional sports. With David Beckham's involvement in the Major League Soccer club, Inter Miami CF, there were whispers that the potential for Messi to come to MLS may be

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00:52:15

Extra Time: ESPN's Jeff Carlisle

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/12

Jeff Carlisle is one of the best known soccer reporters in America. He career covering the sports has mirrored its ascension in the United States. After transitioning out of a job in corporate America, Jeff tried his hand in writing with a focus on the beautiful game. Within a few years, she was working for ESPN and quickly emerged as one of the lead writers covering Major League Soccer and the US Men's National Team. As a result, he watched enthusiasm for soccer grow in America as both the national

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00:55:00

Extra Time: Connecting with Kellyn Acosta

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/10

Kellyn Acosta was a key member of the US Men's National Team that qualified for and then played in the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup in Qatar. His journey to that tournament, and significance of his participation, is unique to the story of soccer in America. Acosta was born in Dallas, Texas and joined he FC Dallas youth system in 2009. He worked his way through the Development Academy, then onto the senior team in 2013. He emerged as a regular on the FC Dallas team and became recognized as a rising star

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01:12:47

Chapter Fifty-One: The USMNT Returns to the World Cup...

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/07

When the US Men's National Team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, it was a setback to the growth of soccer in America. The disappointment of that failed qualification triggered changes at the top of the team, and a concerted effort to integrate a new group of young talent that could get the team back to the FIFA Men's World Cup in 2022. Players like Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Antonee Robinson, Kellyn Acosta and others became fixtures of the starting XI through 2018

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00:43:00

Extra Time: Joanna Lohman on Amplifying Impact

Founding Futbol ·

2025/04/03

While the equal pay fight was driven by players on the US Women's National Team, they represented all women trying to make a living playing soccer at the highest level. The fight extended into the professional ranks where players like Joanna Lohman used their voices to advocate for, initially, just a living wage at the WPS and then NWSL levels. But, for players like Lohman and so many others, the equal pay fight represented so much more -- it was a proxy for activism and advocacy on so many levels

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01:19:22

Chapter Fifty: The Women Win Equal Pay (with Jeffrey...

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/31

After the 2015 Women's World Cup, the US Women's National Team used their heightened profile and propensity for activism to file a complaint with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against US Soccer seeking equal pay to their male counterparts on the US Men's National Team. Five players -- Alex Morgan, Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, and Becky Sauerbrunn -- asserted that the US Soccer Federation's payment structure unfairly favored male players, resulting in women earning

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00:56:49

Extra Time: David Copeland-Smith's Beast Mode Soccer

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/27

David Copeland-Smith founded Beast Mode Soccer in in 2010 as a training system to help guide soccer players’ technical development. His methodologies quickly caught on among college, international and pro players, leading him to work with the likes of Alex Morgan, Rachel Daly, Landon Donovan, Allie Long and Kristie Mewis. In fact, 13 of the 24 members of the 2019 World Cup winning World Cup squad have trained with Copeland-Smith. While his ability as a trainer earned him the attention of those

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01:14:39

Chapter Forty-Nine: Soccer Takes Over Instagram (with...

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/24

The exploration of key moments in US Soccer history has revealed the importance of media and then social media in amplifying the beauty of the game and connecting fans to it in a variety of ways. Cable sports helped expose the American public to highlights. YouTube let fans see world class goals at the same time Messi emerged on the global stage. Twitter gave American soccer fans the ability to connect, cheer and celebrate Abby Wambach's miracle goal against Brazil in the 2011 Women's World

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00:48:10

Extra Time: Welcome to Wrexham's Josh Drisko

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/22

When actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought Wrexham AFC, it generated significant interest in the United States. Two Hollwood stars attaching themselves to a team in Wales, par of the English football system, gave Americans another way in which they could connect with the beautiful game, globally. But, when they turned it into a sports documentary, it opened the door to soccer for casual fans in the same way Ted Lasso and other cinematic content did as well. Josh Drisko joined Founding

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00:46:04

Extra Time: Angel City's Julie Uhrman

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/20

Angel City FC brought top flight professional women's soccer back to Los Angeles.. Announced in 2020, the team began playing in 2022. But the process of making that initiative a reality started in 2019 during a conversation between the club's co-founder and CEO, Julie Uhrman, and others. An idea quickly turned into action and within months, Uhrman and team of co-founders were putting together a unique syndicate of owners that represented Hollywood, soccer history and the business world. Uhrman

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01:16:46

Chapter Forty-Eight: The Hollywoodization of Soccer...

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/17

With the success of Ted Lasso, as well as the growing popularity of soccer documentaries and broader program on streaming services, Hollywood began to seen an opportunity to connect with soccer. In 2020, two different initiatives marked the Hollywoodization of soccer in different ways. Angel CIty FC, a Los Angeles expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was announced with a star-studded, celebrity-laden ownership group. And two world famous actors -- Rob McElhenney and Ryan

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00:54:36

Extra Time: Charles Curtis, For The Win

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/13

Ted Lasso was successful because it was a great television show. One that developed lovable characters and compelling storylines. Its award-winning run, alone, made it story worthy for so many media outlets, including For The Win, a USA Today website that covers sports and pop culture. But, it's deep connection to sports put it even more into the zeitgeist, drawing on the deep connection between actors and athletes. Charles Curtis joined Founding Futbol to talk about what made Ted Lasso a hit but

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01:14:25

Chapter Forty-Seven: Ted Lasso (with Andrés Martinez)

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/10

In August of 2020, when the world was quarantined inside consuming streaming content like never before, Apple TV+ launched Ted Lasso. In search of a hit to match the growing success of Netflix and make themselves a force in the subscription-based streaming wars, Apple took a chance on the creative powers of Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence and others. As well as faith that a promotional skit created to help NBC launch its coverage of the Premier League, that had twice gone viral, could evolve to become

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01:00:35

Extra Time: The Analytical Mind of Ravi Ramineni

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/06

The rapid evolution of soccer analytics was both influenced and driven by a group of Americans. From the emergence of sabermetrics in baseball, and it's popularization in the book "Moneyball," to the growth of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, the application of mathematical models to various sports has been a passion of many in the United States. Soccer falls into that category as well. While the discipline started in England, many of the most influential minds in the space have been based

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01:19:44

Chapter Forty-Six: Soccer Joins the Analytics...

Founding Futbol ·

2025/03/03

In 2020, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference featured a panel entitled, "Soccer Analytics: The Beautiful Game Meets the Analytics Edge." While the broader sporting public was acknowledging that soccer analytics had finally hit the mainstream, it had been evolving for decades. Starting with the work of Charles Reep, who is largely credited as being the first person to capture soccer match data en masse then analyze it, soccer analytics truly accelerated in the 2000s.A combination of American

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64:45

Extra Time: The Secret Weapon, Dawn Scott

Founding Futbol ·

2025/02/27

During the 2015 Women's World Cup and then even more so in the 2019 Women's World Cup, fans of the US Women's National Team came to know the name: Dawn Scott. The long time performance coach and sports scientist joined US Soccer in 2010. She remained with the program through multiple coaching changes and then, when the team made history as repeat World Cup Champions, players consistently referenced Scott as a key contributing factor. Many referred to her as the team's "secret weapon."Scott joined

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