- published: 31 Mar 2016
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The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is the official governing body of the sport of Association Football primarily known as soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal and Paralympic national teams. U.S. Soccer is also responsible for sanctioning referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States.
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. 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.