U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro
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U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro

President's Letter to Membership - April 19, 2018 

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Supporters of U.S. Soccer, 

When you gave me the opportunity to serve as President of U.S. Soccer two months ago, I promised to be your partner—to listen, to be inclusive and to be transparent as we work together to deliver the change that U.S. Soccer needs.  In this spirit, I plan to keep you updated on our Federation’s activities.  It’s been a busy two months.

First Stop: Soccer House
Given the important role that CEO Dan Flynn and Soccer House staff play in everything we do, my first stop was to meet with Dan and staff in Chicago and to speak with USSF staff across the country via conference call. We focused on making sure that our Federation is doing everything we can to truly serve you—our members.

While in Chicago, I also appreciated the chance to meet with some of our dedicated youth and adult soccer leaders from Illinois and to hear their concerns firsthand. I hope to make discussions like this a regular part of my travels because we’re only going to be able to grow the game by working together, especially at the grassroots.

2026 World Cup Bid
With the FIFA Congress scheduled to vote on June 13 on who will host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, we’ve been working closely with our Canadian and Mexican partners to make the case for our historic United Bid. Bringing the World Cup to the United States will be an extraordinary opportunity to help grow soccer in America—inspiring a new generation of boys and girls to play and generating new revenue and investment in the sport, including for our grassroots.

Our bid—including our 23 candidate host cities—was formally submitted on March 16, and FIFA conducted its technical inspection of our stadiums and facilities last week.  We’re pleased at the growing support for bringing the World Cup to North America.  But we’re in a competitive race, and we’ll continue to make the case for our bid to football federations around the world—right up to the vote on June 13.

Improving Oversight & Accountability at U.S. Soccer
On April 7th, the Board of Directors approved several important reforms to empower the Board to play a greater role in all Federation activities and enhance oversight and accountability. In addition to the four existing Board-level committees, we have created two new committees:

  • A Technical Development Committee co-chaired by Carlos Bocanegra and Angela Hucles, to provide Board-level oversight of soccer operations; and,
  • A Commercial Committee to oversee all Federation commercial activities, which will be chaired by a new independent director to replace outgoing Donna Shalala, who we thank for her outstanding service.

To better align the Board and day-to-day Federation operations and to more effectively serve all our members, the Board also approved changes at the staff level. Among them:

  • We are expanding and formalizing our Membership Department—which will be headed by Brian Remedi, who will serve as Chief Stakeholders Officer, working with Caitlin Carducci, who is well-known to our members—so that we’re truly listening to and working with all members to grow the game;
  • Nico Romejin will serve as Chief Sport Development Officer, responsible for all technical areas, including Player Development and Coaching Education, and Ryan Mooney, as Chief Soccer Officer, will coordinate our administrative needs on the technical side;
  • Jay Berhalter will serve as Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer, responsible for corporate, broadcast and retail partnerships, event operations and revenue; and,
  • Tonya Wallach will serve as our new Chief Talent and Inclusion Officer to promote equality and diversity across all programs at all levels.

Meanwhile, our search committee continues to make progress toward filling our new General Manager positions for our Men’s and Women’s National Teams.  Given the head coach vacancy on the men’s side, we hope to have an announcement on the MNT position in the coming weeks.

Serving the Grassroots
At the grassroots, Members are gathering this month at our new National Development Center in Kansas City to ensure that we’re growing the game together. This includes initiatives like the Innovate to Grow Fund, which will continue for another year and offer up to $3 million in grants to help members launch new programs that increase participation.

Investing in Player Development
As part of our continuing effort to better identify and develop world-class players, we’ve initiated a new program to equip players across our Development Academy clubs, National Teams and NWSL with wearable devices that measure data like speed and heart rate to help improve performance. And our new bio-banding initiative will explore the benefits of grouping Development Academy players by their physical maturity rather than simply their age. 

Congratulations to our Teams
After an inspiring SheBelieves Summit to empower young women, our Women’s National Team captured another SheBelieves Cup and delivered two convincing wins over Mexico. Our Men’s National Team defeated Paraguay before a sold out crowd in North Carolina, and our U-20 Women’s National Team swept the La Manga Tournament in Italy.

Good luck to all our teams, including our U-17 women as they head into the Concacaf Championship in Nicaragua and our Beach Soccer National Team as they prepare for the Bahamas Beach Soccer Cup. And be sure to tune in next month to the 105th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup!

The Journey Ahead
In closing, I’m humbled and honored by the opportunity to work with you as we take soccer in America to new heights. For updates on Federation activities, I invite you to visit us online and follow me on Twitter @CACSoccer.

I’m excited about the journey ahead, and I look forward to working with you every step of the way...

Carlos