Gulati wants new US women’s coach in place by end of October

Pia Sundhage_20-09-12

By David Gold

September 20 – United States Soccer Federation (USSF) President Sunil Gulati is aiming to have a replacement for departing women’s national team coach Pia Sundhage by the end of October.

The USSF has created a committee to search for a new coach, which includes chief executive Dan Flynn and federation executive Tom King, in addition to former national team stars Mia Hamm and Danielle Slaton.

Gulati has said a list of candidates has been trimmed down as they search for a successor to Sundhage (pictured top, right), who is taking over as national team coach in her native Sweden when her contract expires later this year.

Sundhage led the US to a third successive Olympic gold medal triumph in London this summer.

The team beat Australia 6-2 in Colorado on yesterday in what was Sundhage’s final match in charge.

However, there may not be a new coach in place for the upcoming games with Germany on October 20 and 23, respectively.

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Gulati has also been talking with potential investors in a new national women’s soccer league, following the collapse of the Women’s Professional Soccer League earlier this year.

The talks apparently include the possibility of including teams from Canada, and Gulati said they are working hard on the proposals.

“Certainly time is short but we’re working hard to make that happen,” he said.

“The discussions have been going on for several months.

“We’re doing everything we can to see if we can make this happen.

“We don’t want a year to go by if that can be avoided, but you want to get it right.”

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