6 years of jersey design, 4 years of prep, 4 weeks of games: Execs at U.S. Soccer and Nike know how much this World Cup means

With less than two weeks until kickoff, the 2026 World Cup—co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico—has not been without some headaches, including sky-high ticket prices and unfilled hotel reservations. But for Nike and U.S. Soccer, the focus has been purely on putting the national team in position to make a deep run on home soil.

Speaking at Fortune’s COO Summit in Scottsdale on Monday, Dan Helfrich, COO of the U.S. Soccer Federation, said the team’s jersey alone reflects those stakes. Designed in close collaboration with Nike, it was the result of a six-year process involving supply chains, manufacturing innovation, and, crucially, the players themselves.

“It involved putting our players at the center of it,” Helfrich said. “We actually had two years of focus groups and design sessions with Nike designers and our players—both for the aesthetic look [and] the performance feel.”

Helfrich, the former CEO...