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United States Soccer Federation presidential election, 2018
←  2014 February 10, 2018
Candidate Carlos Cordeiro Kathy Carter Kyle Martino
Percentage 68.6 10.6 10.6
Candidate Eric Wynalda
Percentage 8.9

President before election

Sunil Gulati

Elected President

Carlos Cordeiro

The 2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election was held in February 2018 to determine the next President of the United States Soccer Federation. Having served as President since 2006, incumbent Sunil Gulati decided not to run for re-election, after the United States men's national soccer team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986.

Background

Sunil Gulati, the incumbent president of U.S. Soccer, has held the position since he was first elected in 2006. [1] Gulati ran unopposed for election in 2006, and for re-election in 2010 and 2014. [2] On December 4, 2017, Gulati announced that he would not seek another term. [3]

In the months leading up to the election, the U.S. Soccer Federation submitted a joint bid with Canada and Mexico to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. [4] [5] In October 2017, the United States men's national soccer team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, missing the World Cup for the first time since 1986, sparking a major push for reform by supporters. [6]

Format

The election took place on February 10, 2018, at the National Council Meeting during the U.S. Soccer Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Candidates are required to pass a background check conducted by the federation and receive three letters of nomination from organization members or an athlete representative on the federation's Board of Directors. [7]

Eligible delegates will be drawn from the following groups: [7]

  • The 91 state-level associations, national associations, and professional leagues
  • Voting members of the Athletes Council
  • Voting members of the Board of Directors
  • Past presidents of the federation
  • Life Members
  • Delegates from national associations, national affiliates, other affiliates, and disabled service organizations
  • Delegates selected by individual sustaining members

Votes are divided between the Athletes Council, Youth Council, Adult Council, Professional Council, and other groups. [8]

General election campaign

On December 22, 2017, Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated reported that outgoing U.S. Soccer President, Sunil Gulati and Major League Soccer commissioner, Don Garber were campaigning for, and hosted a campaign dinner for Kathy Carter. [9] This sparked a potential conflict of interest given Carter's current role with Soccer United Marketing, and SUM's relationship with U.S. Soccer and MLS. [10] Carter denied any collusion between her, Gulati and Garber. [11]

Shortly after, Carter received the endorsement from the Eastern New York State Soccer Association (ENYSSA) and the New Jersey Soccer Association (NJSA). When asked on Twitter about the decision-making process to endorse Carter, the ENYSSA blocked several accounts on Twitter, only to revert the blocks and claiming their account was "hacked".

Candidates

On December 20, 2017, USSF announced that eight candidates were eligible to stand for election, having met the federation's requirements, 8 of 9 opposed Sunil Gulati. Of the nine declared candidates, only Paul Lapointe failed to qualify for the ballot since he supported Sunil Gulati. [12]

Confirmed

Failed to Qualify

Declined

Endorsements

Eric Wynalda

Leagues

Organizations

  • Rush Soccer [30]
  • American Soccer United [31]

Soccer Associations

  • New Hampshire Soccer Association [32]
  • Illinois State Soccer Association [33]

Soccer Clubs

  • Monmouth Generals FC [34]
  • Galveston Hurricanes FC [35]

Notable Individuals

Soccer Coaching Staff and Management

Kyle Martino

Soccer Players

Organizations

Notable Individuals

  • Matt Popoli, president of the New York Surf Soccer Club [49]
  • Jared Young, contributor to Stars and Stripes FC, Analysis Evolved, and The Union Deux [50]

Soccer Associations

  • South Carolina Youth Soccer Association [51]
  • Connecticut State Soccer Association [52]
Michael Winograd

Organizations

Steve Gans

Notable Individuals

Soccer Coaching Staff and Management

  • Chris Hamblin, head coach of Harvard women's soccer [54]

Soccer Associations

  • Rhode Island Soccer Association [55]

Soccer Players

Kathy Carter

Soccer Associations

  • Eastern New York State Soccer Association [57]
  • New Jersey Soccer Association [58]

Notable Individuals

  • Patti Phillips, CEO of Women Leaders in College Sports [59]

Leagues

Soccer Players

Paul Caligiuri
Hope Solo

Organizations

  • Portuguese Football Players' Union [63]

Notable Individuals

Soccer Players

Carlos Cordeiro

Notable Individuals

Results

[67] First ballot

Second ballot

  • Carlos Cordeiro – 41.8%
  • Kathy Carter – 33.3%
  • Eric Wynalda – 10.8%
  • Kyle Martino – 10.2%
  • Steve Gans – 2.4%
  • Hope Solo – 1.5%
  • Michael Winograd – 0.0%
    • Michael Winograd and Steve Gans withdrew

Third ballot

  • Carlos Cordeiro – 68.6%
  • Kathy Carter – 10.6%
  • Kyle Martino – 10.6%
  • Eric Wynalda – 8.9%
  • Hope Solo – 1.4%
  • Carlos Cordeiro elected

References

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  46. ^ Buddle, Edson [@EdsonBuddle] (January 11, 2018). "@KyleMartino is an outstanding soccer player. I have known Kyle for 21yrs and have played alongside him both at the youth level & professionally. His hard work, dedication, and integrity would make him a great US Soccer President" ( Tweet). Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Twitter.
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  58. ^ Carter, Kathy [@kathycarter28] (December 21, 2017). "Proud to announce endorsements from the Eastern New York State Soccer Association @ENYSSASoccer and the New Jersey Soccer Association @soccernjsa! And a special thanks to Sal Rapaglia and John Zangrilli. Appreciate your support! https://t.co/ajJsW5mLGP" ( Tweet). Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Twitter.
  59. ^ Phillips, Patti [@PattiPhillips10] (January 12, 2018). "Dear @ussoccer, the time is NOW. Kathy Carter has what it takes! Excited to support her in her run for the US soccer presidency. Go Kathy! #WeAreWomenLeaders https://t.co/euEwCPvPZv" ( Tweet). Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Twitter.
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