What if one of the best soccer players in America is never discovered — not because they are not good enough, but because they cannot afford to be seen?
In this episode of Right About Now, Ryan Alford sits down with Brad Rothenberg, founder of Access U, to unpack the structural problem inside American soccer’s pay-to-play system and the long-term consequences that follow from it. Brad explains how Access U helps high-performing student-athletes use soccer as a path to college by providing academic support, recruiting guidance, and access that many families otherwise would never be able to afford.
Ryan pushes the conversation beyond sport and into business, culture, and opportunity: why America still lags in men’s soccer, why women’s soccer has led the way, how star power changes leagues, and why talent pipelines matter in any system built to win. The result is a sharp conversation about access, merit, commercialization, youth development, and what it really takes to create opportunity at scale.
*Topics Covered*
* Why pay-to-play remains a structural problem in American soccer
* How Access U helps athletes turn soccer into college opportunity
* Why underserved players often never get properly scouted
* The business and cultural reasons soccer still trails other U.S. sports
* Why women’s soccer has outperformed men’s soccer internationally
* The role of star power, economics, and development in growing the sport
* How Brad defines success for Access U
* Ryan Alford and Brad Rothenberg on access, talent, and mobility
Links
Right About Now
https://www.ryanisright.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford
Ryan Alford
https://ryanalford.com/ (https://ryanalford.com/)
https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/
Brad Rothenberg / Access U
https://accessufoundation.org/
