Mr. Cordeiro is the new USSF President. While my support was for Kyle Martino and I thought Kathy Carter would win, I honestly didn't pay much attention to Cordeiro's platform, thinking Carter had it in the bag.
Is Cordeiro and agent for change? Well, certainly not in the eyes of Hope Solo, but I find it interesting that his platform seemed to attack Guilati's leadership before Guilati announced he would not run. Guilati supported and actively lobbied for Carter and not Cordeiro. Clearly, the guy had some ideas that differed from Guilatis and as an experienced director and officer had his own frustrations with the Federation.
On December 20, 2017, Cordeiro was interviewed by Sports Illustrated:
https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/12/20/carlos-cordeiro-us-soccer-president-election-platform
According to the interview, Cordeiro believes the current all-powerful Presidency is a problem and would weaken the Presidency in favor of empowering USSF's CEO Dan Flynn.
With regard to the claim that Cordeiro is just a corporate shill from Goldman Sachs, its an unfair charge that ignores his history, but being a banker is probably a good thing. Cordeiro makes the point that US Soccer's expenditures are nowhere near those of Germany, Italy, etc.
If the idea is to grow our revenue and expenditures by a factor of 5x so we can catch up to the big boys, then having a former banker at the helm, doesn't seem like a bad move.
Is Cordeiro and agent for change? Well, certainly not in the eyes of Hope Solo, but I find it interesting that his platform seemed to attack Guilati's leadership before Guilati announced he would not run. Guilati supported and actively lobbied for Carter and not Cordeiro. Clearly, the guy had some ideas that differed from Guilatis and as an experienced director and officer had his own frustrations with the Federation.
On December 20, 2017, Cordeiro was interviewed by Sports Illustrated:
https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/12/20/carlos-cordeiro-us-soccer-president-election-platform
According to the interview, Cordeiro believes the current all-powerful Presidency is a problem and would weaken the Presidency in favor of empowering USSF's CEO Dan Flynn.
During his tenure as executive VP, Cordeiro said he’s helped create four board-level committees designed to generate additional oversight (three are released to USSF finances and the fourth handles governance and nominations). If elected, he aims to form two more that may be of more interest to the American soccer public—a technical committee and a commercial committee. The former will be chaired by a former athlete and the latter by an independent director, Cordeiro said. And they’ll interact and advise U.S. Soccer’s paid, full-time CEO as much or more than the president.
The GMs will report to the CEO, not the president, and ideally they’ll be long-term appointments charged with shaping the direction of the country’s junior and senior national teams and player development initiatives. And that includes hiring and firing coaches.
The above seems like a good move in the direction of putting true soccer people in charge of soccer decisions and an indictment on Guilati's leadership.***
Cordeiro’s platform calls for the new technical committee to advise the CEO on the hiring of two “general managers” (for lack of an official title). They’ll be the highest soccer officers at the USSF and there’s no current analogous position, although it’s somewhat common abroad. One GM will direct men’s soccer and the other will be in charge of the women’s game, and Cordeiro said, “I would think so, yes, it should be a woman,” when speaking of the latter.The GMs will report to the CEO, not the president, and ideally they’ll be long-term appointments charged with shaping the direction of the country’s junior and senior national teams and player development initiatives. And that includes hiring and firing coaches.
With regard to the claim that Cordeiro is just a corporate shill from Goldman Sachs, its an unfair charge that ignores his history, but being a banker is probably a good thing. Cordeiro makes the point that US Soccer's expenditures are nowhere near those of Germany, Italy, etc.
On a broader level, however, Cordeiro maintains that clarity and oversight are part of better governance. His platform promises “open, inclusive and transparent leadership.” And better governance is the key component of a “virtuous circle” that will help U.S. Soccer catch up with its peers, he said. It doesn’t just trail on the field. Fiscal year expenses of around $110 million are “probably five times where it was maybe a dozen years ago,” Cordeiro claimed, but still way behind the game’s global powers.
“We need substantially more resources,” he said. “Germany or England—they’re over $500 million in annual expenditures. Even Spain, Italy and France are double or more where we’re at. They’re smaller economies, smaller populations, but it gives you a sense of the scope of those federations.
“By growing the [USSF’s] financial resources, you’re able to invest more in the federation’s activities, including all your members,” he continued. “That’s my fundamental point. To get to that next level, we’re going to have to transform this organization beyond where it’s at.”
“We need substantially more resources,” he said. “Germany or England—they’re over $500 million in annual expenditures. Even Spain, Italy and France are double or more where we’re at. They’re smaller economies, smaller populations, but it gives you a sense of the scope of those federations.
“By growing the [USSF’s] financial resources, you’re able to invest more in the federation’s activities, including all your members,” he continued. “That’s my fundamental point. To get to that next level, we’re going to have to transform this organization beyond where it’s at.”
If the idea is to grow our revenue and expenditures by a factor of 5x so we can catch up to the big boys, then having a former banker at the helm, doesn't seem like a bad move.