Is Carlos Cordeiro a good fit for the United States soccer federation?

After Sunil Gulati confirmed he would finally be stepping down as president of the soccer federation in the US, many were hopeful that this would be the time where significant change could take place. Many former players ran for the presidency, however the winner of the election was a close official to Gulati; Carlos Cordeiro. Uproar has surrounded the election, with many stating that Cordeiro isn’t enough of a change from the Gulati years.

The Indian born Colombia native is a businessman and soccer fanatic. Formerly working for Goldman Sachs, Cordeiro will certainly bring some financial stability to the helm, not that this was at the top of the necessary agenda. By being so money minded, it may however be difficult to see how he will improve the grass roots program in the US. Soccer, for some unknown reason, is by far the most expensive sport to play at the club level, with some players having to pay upwards of $4000 a season. Oddly, soccer is actually one of the cheaper sports to play elsewhere, basically needing only a ball and some teammates, hence why the game is so popular in third world countries. The fact that the soccer mindset in this country is so focused on money is downright disgraceful. Youth players are missing out on coaching and exposure too frequently. As said, Cordeiro must focus on this aspect of the game in order to fix the system from the ground up. Only time will tell if this will happen.

Before the election, Cordeiro said that “the status quo is unacceptable. US soccer needs change, transformational change. The vote comes down to one question; who can deliver that change.” Was this heartfelt, or just words to get himself elected? Players such as Eric Wynalda and Hope Solo, both who ran for the presidency, have been critical of Cordeiro, accusing him of being another Gulati, and suggesting that nothing will change. The difficult part of these accusations is that there really wasn’t anyone else running that had the experience necessary to implement the needed changes. Granted, Wynalda and others had terrific ideas, having been in the program their whole lives, but none have the experience brushing shoulders with the hierarchy of soccer to be taken seriously. Blindly voting for someone like Solo or Kyle Martino could’ve been genius, but it also could’ve been suicidal. Realistically, Cordeiro was a smart choice given the options. 

If Cordeiro is smart, he will take the advice of his presidential rivals on board, forming a group of advisors to help him lead. This is where Gulati went wrong; his arrogance began to show and this cost the US a World Cup birth. Admittedly, it might be a smart move to work hard to host the World Cup in 2026, but that doesn’t help for 2022, for Copa America, for creating change in what is a truly awful system. 

Cordeiro, to be a successful president, must show that he is putting the needs of young players first. He must fix the corruption at grassroots level, and make soccer affordable to all. He must show to European players that MLS is a good league to develop ones abilities, not a league where players go to retire. He must show promising dual citizenship players that the US should be the team to choose, because of the changes, direction, and desire of the program. The fans must be appeased, the passion must be put back into the game. The dead weight must be removed, both in terms of players, as well as coaches and officials. There is no point in trying to host the most prestigious tournament in the world, and not be able to back it up with performances and quality organization. The rest of the world is already laughing, don’t make it worse.

We are at a potential turning point in the world of soccer in the United States, and it is up to Carlos Cordeiro to drive the program forward, or continue to be stagnant in the soccer community.