U.S. Soccer was originally known as the United States of America Football Association. It formed on April 5, 1913 and on August 15 of that year was accepted as one of the earliest member organizations of FIFA and the first from North and Central America. The affiliation was temporary and at the following year's FIFA Congress in 1914, the USFA, as it was abbreviated at the time, was accepted as a full FIFA member along with the Spanish federation.[1] The governing body of the sport in the United States did not have the word soccer in its name until 1945, when it became the United States Soccer Football Association. It did not drop the word football from its name until 1974, when it became the United States Soccer Federation.
U.S. Soccer had the honor of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 1994, the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1999 and 2003, and the Summer Olympics in 1984 and 1996. The women's national team has also had the distinction of winning two Women's World Cups in 1991 and 1999 (placing third in 1995, 2003, and 2007); the Olympic Gold Medal in 1996, 2004, and 2008; and seven Algarve Cups and six CONCACAF Women's Gold Cups.
In 2003, U.S. Soccer opened their National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The $130 million facility includes a soccer-specific stadium, home to the MLS teams Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA. The facility is equipped with five full soccer fields (four grass and one artificial) for use by the MLS teams and U.S. Soccer. Both the senior and youth men's and women's United States National Teams hold camps at The Home Depot Center regularly.
