

As a prequel to the World Cup this summer, University College and the Summer School, both in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, are sponsoring a panel discussion titled “Is The USA Becoming a Soccer Country?”

Grant Wahl, senior writer at Sports Illustrated and an analyst for Fox Soccer, and Clark Hunt, chairman and CEO of the Kansas City Chiefs and a founding investor in Major League Soccer, are among the panelists. The discussion will be at 7 p.m. Monday, May 5, in Graham Chapel on the university’s Danforth Campus.

Dan Flynn, secretary general of the U.S. Soccer Federation, and Taylor Twellman, ESPN soccer analyst and the 2005 Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player, are also on the panel.

The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

Michael J. MacCambridge, adjunct instructor in communications and journalism in University College who teaches “Soccer & The Global Village: The Culture of the World Cup,” will serve as moderator.

“Soccer has never been more popular in the United States than it is right now,” MacCambridge said. “This panel is an attempt to discuss the implications of that, not only for the game itself, but for the rest of the American sporting landscape.

“I’m thrilled to have such respected and fascinating guests joining the discussion. Clark, as both an NFL and MLS owner, is an ideal person to speak about soccer’s growth within the larger context of American sport; Dan has been at U.S. Soccer for more than 15 years and has seen monumental changes in that time; Taylor brings a player’s understanding and experience to the discussion; and Grant is simply the best — and best-known — soccer writer in the U.S.”

For more information on the speakers and the program, or to RSVP, visit ucollege.wustl.edu/soccer or call 314-935-6700.