Cone re-elected as US Soccer president

United States Soccer Federation president Cindy Parlow Cone was re-elected to the position on Saturday, beating off a challenge from predecessor Carlos Cordeiro.

Cone took over the job in March 2020 when Cordeiro stepped down over sexism allegations linked to the governing body’s legal battle with the US women’s team.

Cone was re-elected after winning 52.9 per cent of a weighted vote at USSF’s annual meeting in Atlanta.

“I’m really proud of what I’ve done my first two years as president,” Cone said after her election win on Saturday.

“I think we’ve accomplished a lot, but there’s a lot left to do,” the former US international added.

“As I’ve said many times, my first couple of years we were really looking to make sure that the ship didn’t sink, because I came into a really challenging situation and had to right the ship, and now we’re sailing in a good direction.”

Cordeiro stepped down as president two years ago amid uproar over a USSF legal filing in response to the US women’s team’s gender discrimination lawsuit.

The US Soccer filing argued that playing on the men’s US national team “requires a higher level of skill based on strength and speed” than playing on the women’s team.

With US Soccer sponsors leading criticism, Cordeiro resigned after describing the language in the court documents as “unacceptable and inexcusable.”

SuperSport/Nnenna.O