Kate Markgraf of US (R) fights for the ball with Marta of Brazil during the women's gold medal ... [+]
On Monday, United States Soccer Federation announced Kate Markgraf as its first general manager of the United States women’s national team.
No stranger to U.S. Soccer, Markgraf appeared in 201 games during her international playing career that spanned 12 years. In 1999, she was a starting defender on the historic team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup and was a part of the 2003 and 2007 World Cup rosters. Along with being a national team co-captain and winning two Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008, Markgraf played in two iterations of professional soccer in the WUSA and WPS.
“One of the many changes that we have been bringing into U.S. Soccer over the past year and a half since I became president is making sure that soccer operations are run by soccer experts,” said Carlos Cordeiro, the president of U.S. Soccer, while announcing the restructuring of U.S. Soccer’s sports performance department.
While soccer fans are more readily familiar with Markgraf’s former “99ers” teammates – Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Brandi Chastain – she has made a mark on the game in her own right. As an ESPN analyst and sideline reporter, Markgraf was the first woman to work a major men’s soccer tournament airing in the United States when the network broadcasted the 2016 European Championship.
Markgraf joins Earnie Stewart in a senior leadership role under U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro. Stewart was named general manager of the men’s national team one year ago and was elevated to sporting director where he will oversee the entire U.S. Soccer sports performance department.
In a statement, U.S. Soccer described the general manager position as having “an expanded scope beyond the senior team, influencing the development of women's soccer within the Federation and serving as the external liaison to all stakeholders.” In her new role, Markgraf will also have broad oversight over every facet of the women’s national team, including: managing, hiring and developing senior and youth women's national team coaches, technical and administrative staffs; and creating, implementing, and managing a technical plan for the youth and women's national teams.
The biggest test for Markgraf comes on the heels of Jill Ellis, national team head coach, stepping down after winning consecutive World Cups.
“Her immediate priority will be to lead the process of selecting the next head coach of the Women’s National Team,” said Cordeiro. “Kate will run the search committee comprised of soccer experts, and that begins now.”
Cordeiro also noted that in time Markgraf will lead the creation of U.S. Soccer’s overall vision for the future, which he calls “Vision 2027” that is linked to the United States bidding to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
When asked how soon she wants to fill the coaching vacancy, Markgraf replied, “For us a group it is about hiring the best candidate for the job. Our goal is to have the position filled as quickly as possible, but not at the detriment of not picking the right person.” Asked if she would prefer to hire a female candidate, she said, “All things being equal we would consider both candidates. But I would like to hire a woman if all things are being equal. In the end, it will come down to the best candidate, regardless of gender.”
