Staff shakeup at US Soccer Federation under new CEO
CHICAGO (AP) — Chief administrative officer Brian Remedi has been fired by the U.S. Soccer Federation as part of a staff shakeup in the transition to new CEO Will Wilson.
Tonya Wallach, chief talent and inclusion officer since 2018, also was fired Wednesday. The departures were first reported by Soccer America and confirmed by the USSF on Thursday. Additional staffers were let go, but the USSF would not confirm the total.
Wilson announced he was taking a 50% pay cut during the period of economic uncertainty caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.
“Upon officially joining the organization just over two weeks ago, it became quickly apparent that the status quo was not sustainable for the economic viability of the federation,” Wilson wrote in a letter Thursday to federation members. “After extensive discussion, we concluded that we needed to act quickly and decisively in order to not put the federation in financial peril in the coming years.”
Remedi was third on the federation staff directory as chief stakeholder officer when he was given the additional duties of chief administrative officer last Sept. 16 following the retirement of CEO Dan Flynn.
Remedi had been with the federation from 1996-99 and returned in 2009. He had $326,745 cash compensation in the year ending on March 31, 2019, according to the USSF's tax return.
“The layoffs and furloughs were another challenging part of these decisions,” Wilson wrote. “These are people that have been incredibly dedicated and have contributed endless hours to help soccer grow in this country.”
The USSF announced Wednesday it was folding its development academy, which included boys and girls youth teams. Major League Soccer said it will launch boys competitions.
“We know that discontinuing our support of the development academy will have a significant impact across the elite youth soccer ecosystem,” Wilson wrote. “While the timing is difficult, unprecedented times required us to act now, ”
The uncle of former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck, Wilson started as Flynn’s successor on March 30. He was hired after Cindy Parlow Cone took over as president from Carlos Cordeiro, who quit following USSF legal filings that demeaned players on the U.S. women’s team who have filed a gender equity lawsuit.
Jay Berhalter, Flynn’s No. 2 as chief commercial and strategy officer, left at the end of February. He is the brother of Gregg Berhalter, who was hired in December 2018 as the U.S. men’s national team coach.
USSF chief legal officer Lydia Wahlke was placed on administrative leave last month after the controversy over the legal filings.
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