Carlos Cordeiro elected U.S. Soccer federation president

Carlos Cordeiro has been elected to lead the U.S. Soccer federation into the future. 

The vice-president of the federation will move into the top role after three rounds of voting with 68.6 percent of the vote saw him win the USSF presidential election, with Soccer United Marketing president Kathy Carter finishing closest runner-up. He will replace Sunil Gulati in the role. 

“I’m a bit overwhelmed to say the least,” Cordeiro said after his victory.

Cordeiro thanked the candidates for their campaign, the U.S. Soccer board and outgoing federation president Gulati. He also promised to work hard to win the support of those who did not vote for him.

"To those of you who didn’t vote for me, I’m going to work to earn your trust and support over the next four years," Cordeiro added. "I promise you I’m going to work together with all of you to bring us together as one united soccer community."

The election was contested between eight candidates. Cordeiro and Carter, by virtue of their positions, were seen as establishment candidates and were joined by a host of other voices including former U.S. men's national team players Eric Wynalda, Kyle Martino and Paul Caliguiri, former U.S. women's team goalkeeper Hope Soloal, Steve Gans and Michael Winograd. 

Each candidate was allowed time to speak prior to the vote, laying out their various platforms. 

Difficulties in the technical process of voting forced a re-do of the initial round of voting, which did not have a clear winner, with requirements stating that the winner must earn over 50 percent plus one of the vote. 

Cordeiro and Carter received the top two totals of the first round, with Cordeiro receiving 36.3 percent of the votes and Carter 34.6 percent. Wynalda finished third with 13.7 percent of the vote, Martino fourth with 8.6 percent, Steve Gans fifth with 4.1 percent and Hope Solo sixth with 1.6 percent. Michael Winograd and Paul Caliguiri each received under one percent of the vote. 

Caliguiri dropped out after the first round of voting. 

The second round of voting saw Cordeiro inch up to 41.8 percent of the vote, while Carter dropped slightly to 33.3 percent. None of the other candidates made any substantial movement forward and Michael Winograd dropped out after not receiving a vote in the second round, with Steve Gans also stepping aside. 

In the third round, Cordeiro pulled away, drawing on Carter's support as she fell to 10.6 percent of the vote. That brought her into a tie with Martino, who also brought in 10.6 percent of the vote. Wynalda and Solo finished fourth and fifth respectively in the final round. 

Cordeiro replaces Gulati, who served in the role for 12 years. Gulati decided not to seek re-election after the U.S. men's national team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after a surprise loss to Trinidad and Tobago on the final day of CONCACAF qualifying.