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.

Lionel Messi's arrival in America to play for Inter Miami was such a big story, it warranted a dedicated reporter for USA Today -- Safid Deen.

Michelle Kaufman has covered every step of the Messi experience in Miami for the Herald and she joins the show to share her insight.

Lionel Messi's arrival in America has profoundly changed the landscape of Major League Soccer; The Athletic's Paul Tenorio helps break down the economic effects and more.

As one of the most seasoned soccer writers in America, Jeff Carlisle provides a unique perspective on the importance of the USMNT returning to the 2022 World Cup.

Kellyn Acosta was a critical figure in the USMNT's qualifying run that returned them to the World Cup in Qatar, where he became the first Asian American to represent the US in that tournament.

After the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, a young group of players including Aaron Long and others, came together as a team and helped the USMNT return to the 2022 World Cup.

Joanna Lohman made a massive impact on the soccer community with her big personality, trademark mohawk and steadfast belief in advocacy for equality.

When the USWNT took legal action against US Soccer in 2016 and again in 2019, Jeffrey Kessler was there to help ultimately guide them to a settlement in 2022.

Instragram has given rise to a soccer trainer culture that is best embodied by David Copeland-Smith and Beast Mode Soccer.

Instagram has provided soccer with a platform to accentuate its beauty and also connect players, like guest Kelley O'Hara, with fans in a deeper way.

Josh Drisko is an editor and showrunner on Welcome to Wrexham, a show that has opened the door to soccer in America for casual fans.

Angel City FC and Wrexham AFC are two teams in the soccer world that have a direct connection to Hollywood, and have drawn new and different types of American fans to the game.

Charles Curtis, managing editor of USA Today's "For The Win" joined the show to discuss Ted Lasso's pop culture relevance

Ted Lasso gave an entirely new group of Americans another way to enter the soccer world.

Ravi Ramineni was an early pioneer in the field of soccer analytics and created a standard during his nine years with the Seattle Sounders that many have since followed.

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 influence co-mingled with application globally pushed the practice forward. Thanks to the "Moneyball" phenomenon, conferences like Sloan, enterprising data scientists and opportunistic entrepreneurs, soccer analytics began to forge an influential path with English clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool Lucy Rushton broke into the soccer world in that environment. After working for her hometown club, Reading FC and then later Watford FC, Rushton moved to the US to take on a lead analytics role for Atlanta United in Major League Soccer. She was later hired as the General Manager of DC United and then also of Bay FC in the National Women's Soccer League. Rushton joined the show to talk about her journey and the evolution of soccer analytics over the last few decades. Founding Futbol is a year-long exploration of the critical moments that have led to soccer's emerging popularity in America. Visit our website for more information: ⁠⁠FoundingFutbol.com. Email us at kent@foundingfutbol.com. Subscribe to Founding Futbol on your platform of choice. Host: Kent Malmros Guest: Lucy Rushton (Former GM, Bay FC and DC United) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Founding Futbol to recount her journey through the soccer world -- from breaking into the business through her current work as one of the world's leading soccer sports scientists. She recalls moments from her start with US Soccer, the 2015 and 2019 World Cup runs, and so much more. Founding Futbol is a year-long exploration of the critical moments that have led to soccer's emerging popularity in America. Visit our website for more information: ⁠FoundingFutbol.com. Email us at kent@foundingfutbol.com Subscribe to Founding Futbol on your platform of choice. Host: Kent Malmros Guest: Dawn Scott (Sports Scientist, Former USWNT Assistant Coach) Correction: Some content in the show previously suggested the 2019 USWNT as the first women's team from any country to win back-to-back World Cups. That was inaccurate. Germany won both the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. The language in the show has been corrected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices