This Saturday, the National Council of the U.S. Soccer Federation will hold an election for president of the organization. Unlike the free-for-all that took place four years ago when there were eight candidates, there are only two candidates this time around: incumbent Cindy Parlow Cone and her predecessor, Carlos Cordeiro, who resigned under pressure just two years into his tenure. His resignation came after legal filings related to the equal pay lawsuit had disparaged players on the U.S. women's national team.
ESPN sat down with both candidates to get a sense of why they are running, where they can improve and how they will lead the federation moving forward. The interviews have been edited for brevity and clarity.
ESPN: Why did you feel you had to resign back in 2018?
Carlos Cordeiro: It was, for me, in a very personal way, one of the most difficult things that I've ever had to go through. Deeply humbling. I had put multiple layers of oversight in place, including the special Litigation Committee, which the board established a few months before that, specifically to expedite all our conversations with the team. [This was done] with respect to settlement discussions, which were ongoing back then, with respect to the litigation itself.
But all those layers failed, the resulting filing was obviously very offensive, and when I saw it, I apologized. That apology was heartfelt, but at the end of the day, no apology was enough under the circumstances. And given the severity of what happened, I decided, as president it was the right thing to do take that responsibility, give the federation a way forward at that very difficult moment in time.
ESPN: Do you think it was the right choice, in retrospect?
CC: If given the circumstances, would I do it again? Yes.
ESPN: In light of that, why are you running again, and what compelled you to run again? And then why do you think you're the best candidate to lead this organization forward?
CC: Well, I'd say the following. It's now been two years since I resigned, but really, in the last several months I've had dozens -- I mean dozens -- of members approach me asking me to run because they were, I'd say, extremely concerned for any number of reasons. It's a very diverse membership group. People feeling ignored, marginalized, forgotten, not being consulted about critical decisions. I can go on: extreme budget cuts, staff cuts. The membership department was effectively downsized. We forfeited our global leadership role in CONCACAF and FIFA. It goes on and on.
So I had lots of people coming to me asking me to run. It then ended up turning into a number of them unprompted, writing letters of nomination on my behalf. And I took the decision over the Christmas holidays to run. I had a conviction that I could win, and I feel I am the better candidate.
I've talked a lot about growing the pie. I think driving revenues over these next few years is absolutely critical. Seizing the opportunity of 2026 is once in a lifetime, transformational for the federation. And bringing in more tournaments behind that, whether it's a Women's World Cup, whether it's a reformatted Club World Cup, whether it's global tournaments for beach or futsal, I think all of that creates a dynamic that's unique. To do that all within a matter of a few years is just truly, truly transformational. And as we drive revenue behind all of that, we can start doing things that we've never been able to do before.
ESPN: Given the circumstances under which you departed, how concerned are you that you're going to have trouble unifying the organization or getting buy-in?
CC: Well, first question, I guess you're asking is: Can I win? I would say, absolutely. I'm obviously very grateful to all of the members who have asked me to run, all of those who have nominated me to run it. Since I announced, many more have come out in support of me. In one-on-one conversations, I've traveled the country back and forth a few times. I've had multiple zoom calls. So I'm very confident that at the end of the day, I can build a winning coalition.
Can I govern? Absolutely. I think being away for a couple years now, I've had time to reflect on what happened -- one can always do better, let's face it. I've resolved to do better as a person, as a human being, as a leader. I think whoever is U.S. Soccer president needs to be inclusive of everyone in the so-called "soccer family." That's not been the case the past couple of years, and anyone who knows me knows I'm super inclusive and collaborative. And I think I can bring people together, very, very quickly.
ESPN: Along those lines, to what extent are you concerned that you've alienated women in the organization, given the filing that was made?
CC: I've said at the time that I hadn't read that material. When I did read it, I was extremely offended by it, and I took responsibility for that, despite the layers of oversight. I think at the end of the day, everyone wants to move forward in the right set of circumstances. So I think there's a genuine desire on all sides to move forward together. [I want to] grow a budget for women's football in the U.S. that doesn't exist today -- that will be a top priority. So I'm hopeful and optimistic that, yes, we can all move forward together.
ESPN: Did you know about Christen Press' complaint to the USSF in 2018 about Rory Dames? Were you aware of that? [Editor's note: U.S. Soccer managed and operated the NWSL up until last year. Dames, head coach of the Chicago Red Stars, resigned amid new allegations of abuse in November.]
CC: [In a letter I released two weeks ago] I actually come up with I think some very practical ideas that the federation can move immediately on before this investigation is complete. So I won't go into those specific things that I have recommended or suggested. But in the letter as well, I do make a comment that typically, such complaints in the interest of protecting player privacy will be handled by appropriate staff at U.S. Soccer, not the board of directors. And when I was president, I was not aware of Christen's allegations of abuse of coaching or any investigation into her allegations by the federation. [So] the answer's no.
ESPN: So, basically, what you're saying is that the president is usually kept out of the loop? Is that a fair statement when it comes to investigations?
CC: No, you're implying [I was] purposely to kept out of the know. It is practice... the federation receives multiple requests or notices, and in all of these, there are procedures that are followed. We have SafeSport, among other things, that take these things up now. So if you're a youth player, and something happens, there are approved procedures to follow, and they may not even come to the federation. They may go directly from the youth coach or a parent directly to SafeSport.
It's not about keeping me in the loop. It's just that for privacy reasons, these cases aren't brought to your attention at the board.
ESPN: You put forward some fairly concrete suggestions in your letter, but how else can you go about regaining trust of all the members and the voting and the public, given what has transpired and given what has been made public in terms of the accusations against Dames?
CC: I think there's an investigation ongoing. It would be improper for me to comment on that. I honestly don't think that I should or anyone should comment on these things while there's multiple investigations. So it would be completely improper for me to jump in.
ESPN: Give me the Reader's Digest version about how you regain trust, though. I mean, that doesn't necessarily have to pertain to Dames. Given all that's transpired, how do you go about regaining the trust of the voting membership and the public?
CC: Do you mean specific to the NWSL issues or just because of me personally and my issues relating to the resignation?
ESPN: Both.
CC: Well, as I said to you, I'm running because members have come to me, asking me to run. And I took all of that in stock before I made a decision to run. And as I said, soccer has always been a very, very important part of my life. I've seen the power of soccer bring people together, starting with me, as a kid, as an immigrant. Soccer was the way I made friends, and so on and so forth. I am hugely committed to the U.S. Soccer Federation, committed to the game in this country, I want to see things grow.
And I believe I'm obviously the better of the two candidates when it comes to driving the leadership that it will take to get to the next level over the next five to 10 years. And I think the runway to 2026, and the years following 2026, are critical years for us as a nation. And I believe that actions will speak louder than words and I'll be proven correct in time. But I do believe that we have so much to look forward to as a nation and as a sport -- that's what my focus will be.
ESPN: The number of registered players is decreasing. Why do you think this happened, what are your plans to address this trend and is the Innovate To Grow fund sufficient to address this issue?
CC: Well, if the answer is specific to the pandemic, obviously, yes. This year, we're down to about 3 million [registered players] from maybe 3.5 to 4 million at its high. So, yes, specifically the coronavirus has obviously impacted the kids of the youngest levels. They're the most basic levels. But this is a bigger problem: we have had stagnation. If I would put it in other words, our growth hasn't changed in 20 years. Whether that number is 3 million, 2.5 million or 4 million, it's been hovering at those levels for almost 20 years. If you account for population growth, it's declining. So there's no question that relative to where we should be, it's been falling.
If you look at the main European countries we aspire to be as a footballing nation, they all have participation rates at that level that are three to four times bigger than ours as a percentage of that demographic. So the demographic for us is 60 to 65 million in that age group under 18, and we've got barely 3 million -- that's 5%. You tell me whether 5% is an acceptable number. The answer is no. So I'm agreeing with you on that.
In my most recent letter about 10 days ago, I talked about: Let's be bold, let's be ambitious. Let's talk about doubling our registrations in a period of 10 years. So you might say going from 3 million to 6 million -- it's still small relative to the rest, but let's double that and then start in the right direction. At least it's not declining. I don't think it's so bold. It's not to say we can't do it. It's ambitious, but it can be done.
ESPN: How do you think the current administration has managed the World Cup hosting process so far? There's been some criticism about them not maximizing this opportunity?
CC: Well, don't think it's been managed. They've been silent participants. And look, I know something was said [recently]: "I'm not sure where [Carlos'] loyalties are, maybe he's too close to FIFA than he is to U.S. Soccer." So there's a perception out there that I'm their preferred candidate. I'm "too close to FIFA" or something like that. Which personally, I take an offense at because I'm an American, first and foremost. I'm an immigrant that worked very hard. I'm an American first, and I'm loyal to this country, and I'm loyal to U.S. Soccer.
It is extremely important in today's day and age to have a strong relationship with FIFA and with CONCACAF. It's good for U.S. Soccer: that's where decisions are getting made. We need to have a seat at the table. For the first time in 40 years, we have forfeited our seat at CONCACAF and at FIFA simultaneously. We've not always had both, but we've had both in the last 20 or 25 years. We don't have a seat at either table. [Editor's note: Cordeiro is referring to the FIFA Council and the CONCACAF Council.] That is because, frankly, our president didn't put up a candidate for either vacancy.
My term expired at the end of October last year -- there was no American candidate. There should have been. It's actually in the bylaws says one of the few responsibilities of the president of U.S. Soccer is to put candidates up for these seats.
ESPN: You're talking about the CONCACAF Council.
CC: Sunil Gulati's position [on the FIFA Council] also expired in October. The same thing: We didn't put up a candidate. So by default, the Mexican president became the FIFA Council member and the Canadian president became the CONCACAF Council member. These are very, very important bodies. This is where decisions have been made. If you want to bid for something, you first go through your regional confederation for the right alliances -- you come up with a vision, a strategy and a plan. And then you've got to got to get 106 of the 211 members to vote for you globally.
So I think not having a strong relationship with CONCACAF and FIFA is a mistake for any president of U.S. Soccer, not just myself. And a lot of members across the federation have told me that they think my global experience and my deep relationships with both FIFA and CONCACAF are a strength, not a liability. So I think that's the important thing to understand.
ESPN: Just to confirm, you resigned from the U.S. Soccer board last September?
CC: Yes. I stayed on the board when I resigned as president. I stayed on as the past president, which I was entitled to. I did that until September when I accepted this honorary, unpaid position at FIFA as a senior advisor to the president. But I felt that the inherent conflicts in my FIFA seat and sitting on the U.S. Soccer board would potentially create conflicts that I wanted to avoid. And so I thought it was the right thing to do.