Tag: U.S. soccer

U.S. Soccer hires Onyewu for newly created VP of sporting role

The 40-year-old will report to sporting director Matt Crocker in the new role

U.S. Soccer has announced that Oguchi Onyewu has been hired as the federation’s vice president of sporting.

The newly created role will see the ex-U.S. men’s national team defender take on a host of responsibilities as he reports to new sporting director Matt Crocker.

In a news release, U.S. Soccer said Onyewu will work closely with Crocker “in supporting all sporting initiatives within the federation,” and “will also play a prominent role in managing relationships with clubs and leagues in the United States and across the world, along with strengthening other stakeholder relationships.”

One of Onyewu’s first tasks will be assisting Crocker in the search for a new USMNT head coach.

“I am incredibly excited to take on this new challenge and work with Matt and the rest of the U.S. Soccer team to help shape the future of soccer in this country,” said Onyewu.

“As a former player, I understand firsthand the importance of investing in our youth and building a strong foundation for the future. I look forward to working with the men’s and women’s senior teams, youth national teams and extended national teams to help support and grow our talented pool of players and identify and develop the next generation.”

Onyewu earned 69 caps for the USMNT during his career, including appearances at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup. Since he’s retired, the 40-year-old became the sporting director for Orlando City B in 2018, and was then named secretary general of Belgian club Royal Excelsior Virton in 2020.

Onyewu was also on the Athletes Council of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors before stepping down this past week to take his new position.

“We are thrilled to welcome Oguchi Onyewu to our team at U.S. Soccer,” said Crocker. “His experience as a player and sports executive, coupled with his deep understanding of U.S. Soccer, Oguchi will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our sporting initiatives. We all look forward to working closely with him.”

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U.S. Soccer names Matt Crocker sporting director

The ex-Southampton and England executive will take over from Earnie Stewart

U.S, Soccer has announced the hiring of Matt Crocker as the federation’s new sporting director.

The 48-year-old will replace Earnie Stewart, who left U.S. Soccer in January to take a role with Dutch power PSV.

Crocker joins from Southampton, where he is currently serving as the club’s director of football operations. Prior to that, he spent seven years as the head of England’s youth international teams for both men and women.

“I’m really honored and excited to join U.S. Soccer as sporting director,” Crocker told reporters on Tuesday. “The immediate focus is supporting where I can the women’s World Cup team as they get ready for Australia and New Zealand… Leading the search for the next men’s coach is an opportunity I’m excited about.”

Per U.S. Soccer, Crocker will not start on a full-time basis until August 2 (which is to say, one day after the U.S. women’s national team finishes its group stage slate at the World Cup), but “will immediately begin the process of hiring the head coach of the Men’s National Team and supporting the U.S. Women’s National Team general manager Kate Markgraf and USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski.”

Crocker’s first, and arguably biggest task in his new job will be hiring a permanent U.S. men’s national team head coach ahead of a home World Cup in 2026.

Anthony Hudson is currently serving as an interim but has repeatedly said he’s not looking for the full-time gig. Gregg Berhalter is out of contract, but U.S. Soccer has said he remains a candidate after he was forthcoming in an investigation about the details of a 1992 domestic violence incident.

Who is Matt Crocker?

Crocker began his career at Cardiff, where he served as a development coach for the club’s youth teams, before taking on a role at Southampton overseeing the academy setup. During his first tenure with the Saints, players like Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and James Ward-Prowse came through the club’s academy.

The Welshman bolstered his reputation during his time with the FA between 2013 and 2020, where he oversaw U-17 and U-20 World Cup wins for the men’s team in 2017 and helped establish an overall playing and coaching strategy called the “England DNA.”

He then returned to Southampton where he’s overseen the men’s, women’s and youth teams for the Saints. The women’s team has won back-to-back promotions over the last two seasons.

U.S. women’s national team general manager Kate Markgraf will report to Crocker, while it is still unclear if U.S. Soccer will hire a USMNT general manager to replace Brian McBride, who departed along with Stewart in January.

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Canada is *totally fine* it wasn’t invited to the USA-Mexico World Cup bid party

Really, it’s fine. Not like we are already hosting another World Cup together or anything

Canada Soccer would like everyone to know they are just fine with not being involved in the USA-Mexico joint bid for the 2027 women’s World Cup.

Really, it’s OK. No hard feelings or anything. It’s not like they ARE ALL GOING TO HOST A MEN’S WORLD CUP TOGETHER, or like Canada has any expertise they could’ve offered having JUST HOSTED A WOMEN’S WORLD CUP.

That was essentially the contents of a rather bitter statement released by Canada Soccer in the wake of Wednesday’s news that the U.S. and Mexico would submit a joint bid for the 2027 World Cup.

“We wish our close neighbours the best of luck in their bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Given we were recent hosts, Canada Soccer has not been part of these conversations and was never put in a position to decline a co-hosting opportunity,” the statement read. “If the US Soccer and the Mexican Federation bid is successful, it would be Mexico’s first time hosting a Women’s World Cup, and we are in full support.”

To further emphasize their point that hey, maybe you could’ve at least texted us or something, Canada Soccer then listed a whole host of milestones it reached when serving as host of the 2015 women’s World Cup.

“As hosts in 2015, the tournament generated $493.6 million surpassing the expected total of $337 million,” the statement said, noting the revenue-generating experience the USA-Mexico bid absolutely will not be able to utilize.

Hopefully this won’t make things too awkward as the three countries continue preparing for the World Cup they will actually host together: the 2026 men’s World Cup.

“We look forward to welcoming the soccer world once again to Canada, as we continue to prepare to co-host the 2026 men’s World Cup,” the statement concluded.

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USA and Mexico announce joint bid for 2027 women’s World Cup

The USA would be hosting the event for the third time, while Mexico has never hosted

U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) announced that they have informed FIFA of their intention to submit a bid to co-host the 2027 women’s World Cup.

If successful, the joint USA-Mexico event would take place just one year after the USA, Mexico and Canada co-host the 2026 men’s World Cup, and one year before Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Olympics.

For the USA, it would be the third time hosting the women’s World Cup after 1999 and 2003, while Mexico has never hosted the event.

“The United States has always been a global leader for the women’s game, and we would be honored to co-host the world’s premier event for women’s soccer along with Mexico,” said U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone.

“Hosting the 2027 Women’s World Cup provides us an incredible opportunity to cap off two historic years of World Cup soccer in the CONCACAF region, helping us continue to grow the game among our confederation associations. A record six teams from CONCACAF will play in the Women’s World Cup this summer, and the United States and Mexico want to continue to push the envelope for the development of women’s soccer across the entire region.”

The joint U.S. Soccer-FMF announcement came on Wednesday, which was the deadline for FIFA member associations to submit their expressions of interest in hosting the 2027 World Cup. May 19 is the deadline to submit the Bidding Agreement, and the two federations said more information on the bid would be available then.

The host for the 2027 World Cup is expected to be named during the FIFA Congress on May 17, 2024.

There have so far been three other confirmed bids: a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as bids from South Africa and from Brazil.

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The U.S. Soccer president will continue to earn a $0 salary

An amendment to pay U.S. Soccer’s president an annual salary was voted down at this year’s AGM

U.S. Soccer president is a little closer to being a paid position, but it’s not there yet.

For the second straight year, an amendment that would pay the U.S. Soccer president $125,000 annually was rejected at U.S. Soccer’s Annual General Meeting.

Last year the amendment got 58.91% approval and this year that figure was 62.87% — just short of the two-thirds required to adopt it.

U.S. Soccer president — who since 2020 has been Cindy Parlow Cone — has always been an unpaid position, which is typical of nonprofits like U.S. Soccer.

But there is a growing movement to change that, given Parlow Cone works full-time hours in her role.

As Yahoo Sports documented, Parlow Cone’s assistant was asked last year to track her weekly hours.

The time study found that, from July through November, [Parlow Cone] spent weekly averages of 12-14 hours in scheduled meetings, 18-24 hours on unscheduled calls and nine hours reading emails or documents.

The opposition to paying the U.S. Soccer president appears to come mostly from those who run amateur soccer associations across the country. From Yahoo:

“I would suggest to you that our clubs, the tens of thousands of clubs who are led by presidents who are volunteers — [they] probably invest as much time in their work life as they do in their volunteer job,” Dave Guthrie, Indiana Soccer’s executive director, said at last year’s AGM.

“So I don’t know that that justification [for paying the USSF president] holds true unless we somehow want to pay all of our presidents of all of our member organizations. Which I don’t think we’re prepared to do.”

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U.S. Soccer investigation exonerates Berhalter, implicates Reynas

Some ugly behavior by Claudio and Danielle Reyna is documented in the independent report

U.S. Soccer has concluded an independent investigation into the dramatic affair involving Gregg Berhalter, his wife and the couple’s former close friends Claudio and Danielle Reyna.

The investigation, conducted by Alston & Bird, has concluded that Berhalter and his wife Rosalind were forthcoming about the details of a 1992 incident of domestic violence, and that the firm had no reason to believe any further incidents had taken place between the couple.

The couple eventually reconciled, married and had four children. They are still together today.

Of Berhalter, whose contract as U.S. men’s national team head coach expired at the end of 2022, U.S. Soccer said: “Given the investigators’ conclusion that there is no legal impediment to employing him, Gregg Berhalter remains a candidate to serve as head coach of the men’s national team.”

On the other hand, the report took a much dimmer view of the Reynas, saying the couple did not cooperate with the investigation and have been actively meddling into U.S. Soccer and the U.S. men’s national team for years — mostly looking to benefit their son Gio Reyna.

The Berhalter-Reyna affair exploded into public view in January, when Danielle Reyna admitted she had leaked information about the 1992 domestic violence incident to U.S. Soccer as retaliation for Berhalter not playing her son more at the World Cup, and then revealing details of the player’s poor attitude in Qatar that nearly led to him being sent home.

Amid the extremely public and messy affair, U.S. Soccer brought in Alston & Bird to conduct an independent investigation into the domestic violence incident, as well as any possible wrongdoing by the Reynas.

The investigation noted it did not consider the Reynas’ behavior to be blackmail, nor did it violate U.S. Soccer policies.

But the results were still stunning, painting an ugly picture of one of the most prominent families in American soccer history. Here are several incidents involving the Reynas documented within the report.

Berhalter’s salary more than triple Andonovski’s, per U.S. Soccer filing

The USMNT boss was U.S. Soccer’s highest-paid employee over the period

U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter earned more than triple the salary of U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski, per a new U.S. Soccer tax filing.

Over a one-year period from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, Berhalter earned $1,641,398, which included $300,000 in bonuses.

In that same period Andonovski made $446,495, including $50,000 in bonuses.

Berhalter, whose contract expired at the end of 2022, was U.S. Soccer’s highest-paid employee over the period of the tax filing. Andonovski was only seventh on that list.

U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone was not on the list at all, as the president job remains a volunteer position.

In other listed expenses, U.S. Soccer paid law firm Latham & Watkins $4.9 million over the period of the filing, with the firm leading the federation’s legal fight against the USWNT.

U.S. Soccer also paid Morgan Lewis $1.4 million, with the firm serving as lead counsel to the federation in the negotiations that ultimately led to the historic collective bargaining agreement that guaranteed equal pay for the USWNT.

U.S. Soccer said its revenue over the period was $122.3 million, with expenses at $145.1 million.

U.S. Soccer highest-paid employees (April 2021-March 2022)

  1. Gregg Berhalter, USMNT coach: $1,641,398
  2. Earnie Stewart, sporting director: $799,380
  3. Will Wilson, CEO: $642,348
  4. David Wright, chief commercial officer: $516,257
  5. Kate Markgraf, USWNT general manager: $500,000
  6. Pinky Raina, CFO and COO: $466,864
  7. Vlatko Andonovski, USWNT coach: $446,495
  8. Karen Leetzow, chief legal officer: $410,714

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U.S. Soccer releases Yates report detailing ‘systemic’ abuse in women’s soccer

Yates details a number of disturbing incidents and systems that covered for abusive coaches

U.S. Soccer has released the full independent investigation by Sally Q. Yates into allegations of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women’s professional soccer.

The report states that abuse was pervasive and systemic at the highest levels of women’s soccer in the United States, and includes new details about disturbing incidents involving several former coaches in the NWSL.

Former U.S. Attorney General Yates was brought in by U.S. Soccer in October 2021 following a series of allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct against multiple NWSL coaches.

“Our investigation has revealed a league in which abuse and misconduct—verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct—had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims,” Yates said in her report.

“Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players. The verbal and emotional abuse players describe in the NWSL is not merely ‘tough’ coaching.”

The 173-page report not only reveals specific incidents of abuse but also details how power brokers within the game opted to protect themselves instead of root out abuse in the game.

Yates says that  NWSL and U.S. Soccer “appear to have prioritized concerns of legal exposure to litigation by coaches …. over player safety and well-being.”

“[T]hey also failed to institute basic measures to prevent and address it, even as some leaders privately acknowledged the need for workplace protections,” the report continued. “As a result, abusive coaches moved from team to team, laundered by press releases thanking them for their service.”

U.S. Soccer’s recommendations

“This investigation’s findings are heartbreaking and deeply troubling,” said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone in a statement. “The abuse described is inexcusable and has no place on any playing field, in any training facility or workplace.”

In response to the report, U.S. Soccer’s offered three recommendations:

“The Federation will immediately 1) establish a new national Office of Participant Safety, 2) publish soccer records from SafeSport’s Centralized Disciplinary Database, and 3) mandate a uniform minimum standard for background checks for all U.S. Soccer members,” U.S. Soccer said in a statement.

The full Yates report can be read HERE.

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Sally Yates investigation into sexual misconduct in women’s soccer nears completion

The former U.S. Attorney General began the investigation nearly one year ago

U.S. Soccer has announced that its investigation into abuse and sexual misconduct in women’s soccer is nearing its conclusion, and the full report will be published in early October.

The federation brought in former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to lead the investigation, which began last October after a series of allegations about abusive coaches in the NWSL.

In a statement released on Monday, U.S. Soccer said:

“Last October, U.S. Soccer retained Sally Q. Yates of King & Spalding LLP to lead an independent investigation into allegations of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women’s professional soccer. That investigation is nearing its conclusion. U.S. Soccer will publish the full report by early October, following the completion of the investigation.”

Five coaches in the NWSL were either fired or resigned in 2021 amid claims of inappropriate behavior. Perhaps the most high-profile of those departures was Paul Riley, with The Athletic publishing an article featuring on-record claims of sexual coercion from two of Riley’s former players.

Yates said in a statement this February that her mandate would be broad, meaning she wouldn’t just investigate the perpetuators of abuse but the systems and people that enabled them.

“The scope of our investigation is broad,” Yates said. “We are investigating not only allegations of misconduct, but also the factors that may have contributed to, perpetuated, or concealed abuse.

“Our mandate is to find the truth and make recommendations to ensure that going forward, players are treated respectfully, wrongdoing is uncovered and addressed, and players are protected from harassment or retaliation.”

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USWNT training at Broncos’ facility ahead of weekend friendly

The Broncos are hosting the USWNT at their practice facility this week.

After the Denver Broncos wrapped up mandatory minicamp last week, players went their separate ways for a summer break, leaving the fields at the team’s UCHealth Training Center empty.

The fields are now in use once again, this time for a different football.

The United State’s women’s national soccer team is training at the Broncos’ facility this week ahead of a friendly match against Colombia on Saturday.

The USWNT’s posts on social media show some remaining lines and numbers on the team’s practice field, but the football field has been converted into a soccer pitch.

The current USWNT roster includes four players from Colorado: Lindsay Horan (Golden), Mal Pugh (Highlands Ranch), Sophia Smith (Windsor) and Jaelin Howell (Windsor).

The national team is training for a pair of friendlies against Colombia, the first of which will be held at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids of MLS. That game will begin at 5:30 p.m. MT on Saturday and will air on FS1.

The USWNT are using the two friendlies as tuneup matches for the Concacaf W Championship that begins on July 4. That tournament will determine which teams from the region will qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

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