Boston attorney Steven Gans has "begun exploring a run" against Sunil Gulati next year to be president of U.S. Soccer, according to Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. Gans said that he will "solicit feedback from the soccer community before deciding whether to run, but at the moment, he said he’s leaning toward launching a formal campaign." Gans: "It’s amazing to me that such a big position, no one has ever run against Sunil. There needs to be a challenger. He hasn’t demonstrated such a great track record. I don’t think the direction at the pro and youth level is so great. There are a lot of disenchanted people out there.” Goff notes Gulati -- who can run for one more term under USSF guidelines -- has "not announced his plans," though many soccer observers "expect him to run again." Gans cites transparency as a "major issue at the USSF." He also "believes Gulati's deep ties to FIFA, a scandal-ridden organization, could work against Gulati" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/16). SOCCER AMERICA's Paul Kennedy notes Gans points out three moves by Gulati "that he says showed poor judgment and leadership." That includes extending USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann's contract "through 2018 before the 2014 World Cup finals were even played." Klinsmann was fired last November. The other instances are not attending a "Senate subcommittee hearing on U.S. Soccer's involvement with FIFA and Concacaf in July 2015" and allowing the USWNT labor dispute to "linger and become a major media story." Gans: "For an organization this big, a $150 million organization, to never have a challenger, a fourth term without a challenger, is not good from a process perspective" (SOCCERAMERICA.com, 5/16).
