“One Nation. One Team” — the official motto of the US Soccer Federation. Everything about it seems more American than ever. Yet despite the sense of collective belonging it projects, the disparity within its ranks is far greater than one might imagine. On one hand, the WNT sits atop the world with a historic four World Cup titles. And the MNT, you ask? Zero. It almost makes it seem as if the USSF fails to live up to its own motto in reality. But that might finally change, as with the help of soccer icon Arsène Wenger and a massive $125 million investment plan, things may at last be heading toward justice.

Behold “Pathway Strategy,” a unified national blueprint that brings MLS, NWSL, USL, and the country’s top youth organizations under one system. The announcement was made by US Soccer chief executive JT Batson in an interview with The Athletic. “We’re all here because we want to win World Cups and we want millions of kids to be able to play soccer. We want people to believe that U.S. Soccer is supporting them in their soccer journey, whether it’s a fan, a player, coach or a family member,” said Batson.

The key function of this project is to reduce pay-to-play costs, streamline player development, and elevate U.S. talent to world-class levels. How this will be achieved comes from USSF’s desperation to have discussions with anyone who can help them in their process. Among them is legendary soccer manager turned FIFA’s chief of global development, Arsène Wenger, who apparently “deserves a lot of credit” for giving his valuable time in offering key insights along with his team to help the US Soccer achieve its goals and practices.

The former Arsenal boss isn’t alone, with the federation also having partnered with the Twenty-First Group. Renowned sports intelligence experts here at this firm will be analyzing global data to understand how many players from the world’s top 1,000 a national team typically needs in its squad to consistently reach the World Cup quarterfinals or further. Doing so would give the federation a clear benchmark for what successful long-term player development should look like.

Rest, US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker, is also expected to bring valuable insights, courtesy of the extensive time he spent with the English Football Association, as well as the Premier League. Not to mention the MLS’s commitment of over $125 million per year to expand free-to-play access, making room for enough spending on grassroots talent development.

Simply put, the goal for the US Soccer is to bring all the US teams in a position to win as much as they can. But again, how will the involvement of someone like Arsene Wenger, as well as all the domestic leagues, bring a difference for them on the international front?

Can Arsène Wenger and millions of dollars change the US Soccer’s fate?

“It’s not only about bringing the stars… the youth is more important because they are the future,” Swedish icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic said earlier, offering solid advice to Major League Soccer over stopping obsessing over signing foreign players in bulk and rather giving chances and promoting their grassroots talent. And the former MLS signing himself couldn’t be more right. Failure to do so would see the league end up paying more for a lot of big stars and not being able to create a perfect foundation for its national team.

But given how the US Soccer is finally gearing itself to bring that change, there’s no doubt it will not benefit them. By instilling the soccer passion among millions of American youngsters, the country will be able to produce talent in no time. Then again, all is still under process, as JT Batson mentioned in his latest interview. Everyone knows that the current scenario barely inspires or pushes the local talents to pursue a career in the beautiful game. Even if they are inspired to, that only comes from foreign resources.

The likes of Christian Pulisic or Gio Reyna managing to endure a breakthrough in the soccer world wouldn’t have been possible if they hadn’t moved to Europe. That’s exactly what JT Batson and Co. are keen to change for good.

“There’s a belief that there needs to be a whole lot more opportunities for kids to play soccer close to home, and local models and regional models that provide an opportunity for kids to play much longer, much easier, and much cheaper than what exists today,” said Batson.

Of course, it won’t be as easy as just copying and pasting the principles of other nations, especially considering the geographical structure of a country like America. That’s exactly why the US Soccer turned towards a soccer guru like Arsène Wenger. The former French tactician, who is already working successfully with FIFA, has immense knowledge of not just the sport but also of the global market.

So it would be interesting to see what kind of advice Arsène Wenger has given to the US Soccer, coupled with millions of dollars worth of funding that would help them change the landscape of their national setups forever!