Bob Contiguglia, who is seeking a second four-year term as president of U.S. Soccer, looks back on the achievements and challenges of his first term.
Interview by DAN WOOG
SOCCER AMERICA: Will this be a contested election?
BOB CONTIGUGLIA: As far as I know, no. Most people who had been considered candidates have told me theyÆre not running, and most people have told me theyÆre happy with the way things are going. Of course, in an organization like this, you can never be 100 percent sure of anything.
SA: What are they happy about?
BC: A lot of things. WeÆve worked hard to create a cultural shift in the perception of this organization. WeÆve tried to promote our role of making every coach, referee, administrator and player be as good as he or she could be.
WeÆve focused on communications, and fairness in governance. People may not agree with every decision we make, but I think they believe weÆre fair. WeÆve worked hard at instilling values like mutual respect, openness and transparency in the organization.
Our philosophy is ôlead, but donÆt control.ö That means our members have control, from the grassroots on up, which leads to levels of trust they may not have had in the past. WeÆve given member associations bigger roles and worked hard at that service aspect of things.
Right now, people from [state association] presidents on down feel appreciated. WeÆre a successful business and, of course, weÆve gotten results on the field. We just completed our most successful quadrennium ever. We hosted ù and the women won ù the 1999 World Cup; our men did the best ever in the Olympics; we finished fourth at the U-17 tournament in æ99, with Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley; and then, of course, there was the most recent World Cup.
No country in the world with serious menÆs and womenÆs teams can match those achievements.
SA: How much credit do you take for the women winning the Æ99 title, and the men reaching the World Cup quarterfinals?
BC: Me personally? [Laughs] I show up. Those are the results of 25 years of hard work by thousands of people.
The credit goes to the youth people, the grassroots, ODP, the players, the coaches, and the ôteam behind the teamö that put in years of hard work and planning. That includes everything from post-mortems after 1998, to choosing the hotels.
My role is I choose the coaches, I chose [Secretary General] Dan Flynn, and I set the tone of inclusion and non-interference. The role of the president is to set the values and oversee the role of the organization, but I let the soccer experts do their thing.
SA: Is there anything you wish you had accomplished that you have not yet done?
BC: ItÆs been a whirlwind, and weÆve been so successful, itÆs hard to say. I look at what we do as an evolutionary process. Early on, we got key people together to look at where we needed to go as an organization. The direction and leadership did not come from one person, but from a lot of talented people.
So as a group weÆve done well and accomplished what we wanted. Could we do more? Yes. I would like to see us raise more money for player development. We will need more resources in the future for player development. I worked very hard for a 50-cent fee increase, and I donÆt anticipate more raises in the future. But thatÆs not a disappointment, itÆs an accomplishment.
I guess the biggest disappointment is the continued number of grievances and disputes at the local level. This is usually over disagreements between groups at both the youth and amateur levels. I would like to see these resolved more at the local level, because of the cost and time of a lot of volunteers when disputes reach the [national] board of directors.
SA: WasnÆt a $2 increase recommended?
BC: Some people wanted a $10 increase. But when the whole process was over, the board recommended 50 cents, with the understanding there may be some increases in the future. My position is that we should do that only after we exhaust all other revenue sources.
SA: How would you describe the financial position of the Federation?
BC: Incredibly strong. That comes from good business sense. Our revenue is increasing very well, because of good management and good events. National team games generate revenue, and weÆve got good control, planning and budgeting in place. The credit goes to Dan [Flynn] and his financial staff for strong management. As for the impact of the World Cup, it will take some time to see that.
SA: What about the male-female fight for money? And is it fair that menÆs national head coach Bruce Arena gets paid more than womenÆs head coach April Heinrichs?
BC: ItÆs the marketplace. We have to look at what the market will bear. ThatÆs how weÆve done it, and whether you agree or not, the market commands higher salaries on the menÆs side. I understand the point of view that everything should be gender-equal, but you have to look at the generation of income vs. cost. Those are marketplace issues, and we recognize them in our decision. On the other hand, I think April is paid pretty handsomely.
SA: Why wasnÆt Bobby Howe replaced as coaching director, with responsibility for coaching schools? Is that a superfluous position?
BC: WeÆve changed things around. John EllingerÆs job now includes leading curricular development, with a team of staff coaches and talented individuals. Though he is called director of youth development, heÆs really filled in at all levels. He influences curricular development, the same way Bruce does.
SA: Will you rehire Arena?
BC: WeÆre negotiating. I would love to have him come back. HeÆs done a great job and is a real asset. WeÆll do the best we can to have him back.
SA: How much influence will he have over other programs, including the hiring and firing of coaches?
BC: He was the technical director and had a major influence on the selection of the U-23 and U-20 coaches. He and John have been working together and will continue to do so. HeÆll have a major say, just as April does on the womenÆs side. And our technical experts and other coaches have major influences, too.
SA: Is there any concern that Arena ignores Federation coaches who are not part of his clique?
BC: I know nothing about that, in all honesty. IÆm not aware of that. Once [World Cup] qualifying starts, the intensity of involvement is critical. If the perception is that BruceÆs focus is elsewhere, itÆs not because he doesnÆt like particular people. As a staff, the Federation goes out of its way to include as many people as possible.
SA: Some people say you have not proposed any ôgrand initiatives.ö How do you respond?
BC: I believe in evolution, not revolution. WeÆre not a dot-com company, where change can be created overnight from the top down. We have so many different groups and constituencies, and we have to get and keep them all involved.
Grand initiatives are nice, but they donÆt work. You have to understand the culture of our organization. ItÆs hard to get 110 state associations ù pro, youth, amateur, unaffiliated people ù to all move forward together. But weÆve done that. People now understand that the role of our organization is to provide a way for everyone, whether theyÆre 6 or 60 years old, to reach their potential.
You have to build on your successes. IÆve built on [previous presidents] Werner FrickerÆs and Alan RothenbergÆs successes, and I hope to continue to do that.
SA: WhatÆs the status of the FederationÆs minority outreach? Is it where you want it to be?
BC: ItÆs happening, again, as an evolutionary process. Massive programs, with our limited resources, donÆt work overnight. But I go to youth fields, here in Colorado and around the country, and see more and more Asian and Hispanic and African-American kids playing each year.
The [U.S. Soccer] Foundation is doing a number of things such as the grants process. People like Andres Cantor are now on the Foundation board, and weÆre encouraging local folks to become involved. WeÆve got TopSoccer and other grassroots initiatives doing evolutionary, not revolutionary, work.
Frankly, I donÆt know what another ôinitiativeö would do. And when you look at our youth national teams, theyÆre very diverse in terms of the number of Hispanic, black, Asian and white kids. WeÆve got Hispanic staff coaches, and a lot of our literature is bilingual. WeÆre encouraging the amateurs to affiliate a lot of their ethnic leagues.
They could add a lot to our program by becoming members, by providing coaches and getting their kids playing in our leagues. We just have to continue to work at all this, at the local level.
SA: How about youth soccer? Is it where you want it to be?
BC: No. TheyÆre getting there, but they have a ways to go. Our biggest challenges are the retention of players and making the average player better. WeÆre pushing material down to them, at the grassroots level, to help make that happen. Again, itÆs the philosophy of ôlead, but donÆt control.ö
We provide the curriculum, then itÆs up to the states to implement it. They have to continue to focus on making players, coaches and administrators the absolute best they can be.
I do think ODP is moving in a positive direction. WeÆre integrating it into the national team program. The various groups are working together, and I credit John [Ellinger] and April [Heinrichs] for that. WeÆre adding more and more scouts at the local level, so itÆs less likely any talented player will be overlooked. And we are working on the issue of financing for kids who need it ù thatÆs being solved at the local level.
SA: What takes up most of your time?
BC: So much goes on every day. The situation is so fluid. Travel takes a lot of time. When IÆm not traveling, I spend most of my time on the Internet, in real-time interaction with staff and members. I get 50 to 100 E-mails a day, from everyone from Sepp Blatter and Jack Warner to parents of youth players.
I talk to Dan almost every day on the phone, and we instant-message a lot ù about business decisions, a national training center, sponsorships, TV, MLS, referee issues and many other things.
I interact with FIFA, CONCACAF, the USOC ù that takes time, too. Being visible is also important. I spend time with all our constituencies, assessing their needs and helping them meet them. ThereÆs a lot of building relationships, putting out brush fires and dealing with the big picture.
SA: Finally, whatÆs the difference between your presidency and George W. BushÆs?
BC: We have the same values and say the same things. But I think I practice them a little bit better.
Interview by Soccer America Youth Soccer Letter Executive Editor Dan Woog