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Unifying a divided US Soccer is Cindy Parlow Cone’s greatest task

Cindy Parlow Cone’s first words at the microphone on Saturday, following her re-election as president of U.S. Soccer, addressed the obvious split within the federation which now lay bare.

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“To all of you who supported me, and all of you who supported my opponent,” she said, “I say the same thing: The moment of division is now in the past. We are one federation. We are one team. I promise to be the leader for all of U.S. Soccer.”

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Despite the lopsided bar chart which U.S. Soccer presented on the screen of its virtual meeting, Parlow Cone won the right to the seat with less than 53% of the weighted vote, narrowly clearing the simple majority needed to earn election. It was the closest contested U.S. Soccer presidential election in the modern era.

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While votes are kept private, the increased weight of the Athletes Council — up from 20% to one-third, to meet federal law — likely carried Parlow Cone to victory, though not in a bloc. Parlow Cone stepped into the role of president two years ago after Carlos Cordeiro resigned in disgrace. Cordeiro was Parlow Cone’s opponent in Saturday’s election, and his near-win — despite his oversight of the federation during its law team’s misogynistic legal arguments which called women inferior athletes — was an indication of the fragmented nature of soccer in the U.S., which ranges from the national teams to the grassroots.

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“Our membership is vast and varied, just like our country,” Parlow Cone told media following her re-election. “And there [are] a lot of different ideas out there. So, from that perspective, I need to do a better job of listening and communicating with our membership.”

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