Hope Solo Announces Run For U.S. Soccer Federation President
Hope Solo announced she's running for president of the U.S. Soccer Federation in an essay posted to Facebook on Friday.
Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl reported that Solo has the three official nominations needed by Tuesday to become an official candidate, meaning she will be in the race for full two months.
In the essay she described how her upbringing shaped her impression of U.S. Soccer. Solo discussed how being a lower-middle class family was taxing on her soccer dreams because of the cost to play youth soccer. She talked about receiving handouts from neighbors and family friends in order to support the fees.
"The system has been set up to discriminate and to overlook the disadvantaged because of an arrogant belief that the United States possesses the worlds best athletes, so therefore we can get away without having the world’s best soccer players," Solo wrote. "It is an outdated and a painfully evident reality that the National Teams currently face."
She said the business strategy at U.S. Soccer is "profit over progress," and that this can't continue. She questioned where the money the organization makes goes, because through her experiences she doesn't know.
Solo listed the four core principles she will be campaigning on: Creating a winning culture; equality and women's issues; youth and diversity at all levels; USSF organizational, operational and financial governance transparency.
She ended the essay by saying, "Soccer is the world's game, and I want to share it with all of America."
Solo underwent shoulder replacement surgery in September of 2016. She called the procedure "long overdue." In August, she played down any suggestions of retirement by saying she was looking to play overseas to continue her career and possibly earn a place for the 2019 World Cup. She reached an agreement in August with the U.S. Soccer Federation over a grievance filed last year.
Solo has played for the USWNT for 17 years, winning one World Cup title and two Olympic gold medals. She appeared in 202 games and had a record 102 shutouts in her career.
