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NEW YORK (AP) — One of the candidates for U.S. Soccer Federation president says the governing body should not create a general manager position ahead of the election in February.
Former U.S. star Paul Caligiuri, whose 1989 goal at Trinidad and Tobago put the Americans in the World Cup for the first time since 1950, wrote a letter to the USSF that he released Tuesday. He says "this fundamental restructuring of the U.S. Soccer organizational chart as well as the possible hiring of an individual for this new position without the input of the incoming president is a course of action I urge the board of directors to postpone until after the election."
He adds "should the board of directors be unconvinced that delaying the decision of the creation of a GM position a short period of time until after the election is the correct course of action, I would implore the board not to fill the vacancy until the incoming president is seated."
Sunil Gulati, the USSF president since 2006, decided after the Americans failed to qualify for the World Cup that he will not seek a fourth four-year term.
Caligiuri is among nine candidates, joined by former men's national team players Eric Wynalda and Kyle Martino; U.S. women's goalkeeper Hope Solo; Soccer United Marketing president Kathy Carter; USSF vice president Carlos Cordeiro; Boston lawyer Steve Gans; New York lawyer Michael Winograd; and Paul LaPointe, Northeast Conference manager of the United Premier Soccer League.
The USSF says eight candidates submitted the necessary three nominations but it won't announce the names until background checks have been completed.
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