A vote for Kyle Martino is actually a vote for a network of people that he believes can solve the problems in U.S. Soccer. He’s going to bring them together in early December to flesh out a “progress plan” that he outlines on his site.
He’s already hard at work building this consensus, and this interview has a few glitches because he was on the run as we chatted. He had to run at one point to do a live interview, and the phone connection dropped as he hopped from train to train.
The former MLS player and current (though on leave) NBC analyst grasps the complexities of the U.S. Soccer presidency for which he’s running. Like a couple of other candidates, he’s out talking with youth and adult constituencies to find out what they need. He has mixed feelings about the incumbent, Sunil Gulati, whom Martino firmly believes has run his course as president but still has a lot to offer U.S. Soccer. He’s shocked to hear how other candidates talk about Gulati, pointing out that the next president will have to work “symbiotically” with him as a FIFA Council member and World Cup bid organizer. (That’s all between the 14- and 18-minute marks.)
We talk specifically about women’s soccer — in addition to our conversations about youth soccer, which is certainly not limited to boys — at the 13:30 mark and the 28:00 mark and possibly a few other places. I did not get around to asking about the NWSL — honestly, I haven’t thought of a question along those lines that I wouldn’t rather be asking NWSL owners.
Ranting Soccer Dad 
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