Cynthia Marie Parlow Cone (; born May 8, 1978) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

executive and president of the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

. A former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

player, she is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

champion. As head coach in 2013, Parlow Cone led the

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...

to clinch the inaugural

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL) championship title. Parlow Cone previously served on U.S. Soccer's Referee Committee, Medical Advisory Committee, Appeals Committee, the Athletes’ Council, and Youth Task Force. She was elected as interim vice president of U.S. Soccer on February 16, 2019, and re-elected for a four-year term in February 2020. In March 2020, she was named president after the previous holder,

Carlos Cordeiro Carlos Cordeiro (born 1956) is an Indian-born American sports executive and retired investment banker. He is the senior advisor to the FIFA President and is serving as senior advisor to the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026. ...

, suddenly resigned. In February 2022, she was elected to a full four-year term in her own right. Parlow Cone was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2018, the Tennessee State Soccer Association Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame the same year.

Early life

Born to Larry and Josephine Parlow, Cindy was raised in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, where she attended Germantown High School. At age 13, she attended a local autograph signing by U.S. national team head coach

Anson Dorrance Albert Anson Dorrance IV (born April 9, 1951) is a retired American soccer coach (sport), coach. He was the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer, women's soccer program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Uni ...

after the U.S. won the inaugural

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the first FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national football teams. It took place in Guangdong, China from 16 to 30 November 1991. FIFA, football's international governing body sele ...

in China. After the signing, she told her mother, "I'm going to play for that man some day." Four years later, she decided to graduate high school early and attend the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

where she played for the Tar Heels women's soccer team led by Dorrance. She later noted, "I wasn’t really your typical teenager; I was very intense and very focused. I definitely wasn’t an adult when I was 17, but I felt like coming to UNC was a great decision for me in all aspects because I felt like I was fully supported and pushed to become not only a better soccer player but a better person."

University of North Carolina Tar Heels: 1995–98

At Chapel Hill, Parlow was a four-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n and helped the team win the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship three times and the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

regular season four times. She was a two-time

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

winner in 1997 and 1998 (the second two-time winner following

Mia Hamm Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm (born March 17, 1972) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player, two-time Women's Football at the Summer Olympics, Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Haile ...

). She was named the

ACC Athlete of the Year The Atlantic Coast Conference Athlete of the Year award is given to the male and female athlete who show extraordinary talent throughout the entire season. The award is decided by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Anthony J ...

in 1999. Following her freshman season, Parlow was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year. Her 19 goals and 13 assists (51 points) led ''Soccer News'' and ''Soccer America'' to name her National Freshman Player of the Year as well. Parlow's freshman year ended when she scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

in 20th minute of the 1995 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament semifinals. Notre Dame defeated North Carolina 1-0 on Parlow's own goal to snap the Tar Heels' 35-game winning streak and denying North Carolina a 10th consecutive NCAA title. The following year, she was a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy after scoring 15 goals and providing 11 assists. She scored the game-winning goal in the NCAA Division 1 Championship game against Connecticut. The same year, she was named the Most Valuable Player of the ACC Tournament. ''Soccer News'' named her National Player of the Year. As a junior, she was awarded the Hermann Trophy and MAC Sports Foundation National Player of the Year Award. ''Soccer Times Magazine'' named her National Player of the Year as well. During her senior season, Parlow scored 21 goals, including 7 game-winners, and recorded 11 assists. She was awarded the 1998 Hermann Trophy and 1998 Missouri Athletic Club Foundation Award as the National Collegiate Women's Soccer Player of the Year. ''Soccer News Magazine'' named her Player of the Year. She was awarded the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and named to the All-ACC first team for the fourth consecutive year. Parlow ended her collegiate career with 68 goals and 53 assists (189 points). During her time at North Carolina, the team recorded a cumulative record of record.

Playing career

International

Parlow began training with the U.S. women's national team in March 1995. At age 17, she made her first appearance and scored two goals in a friendly against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

on January 14, 1996. Parlow played in all six games of the team's 1999 World Cup victory, the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics, as well as the

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's association football, women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September ...

. At age 18, she was the youngest player to win an Olympic gold medal and FIFA Women's World Cup title.

1996 Atlanta Olympics

Parlow was the youngest player on the American squad to compete at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta. The '96 Olympics marked the first time that women's soccer (football) was played at the international tournament. Led by head coach

Tony DiCicco Anthony D. DiCicco Jr. (August 5, 1948 – June 19, 2017) was an American soccer player, coach, administrator, and TV commentator. He is best known as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team from 1994 to 1999, during which ...

(the team's former goalkeeper coach at the

), the U.S. advanced to the semifinal after defeating Denmark and Sweden and tying with China in the group stage matches. After defeating

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

2–1 in the semi-final, the U.S. faced China for a second time in the final. During the final in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, 76,481 spectators were in the stands to watch the United States defeat China (a new world record for the most spectators to attend a women's sporting event).

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup

Parlow played in all six games of the team's 1999 World Cup victory and scored two goals. During the July 4 semifinal match against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in front of 73,123 spectators, she scored a header goal in the fifth minute of the match. After 90 minutes of scoreless regulation time and 30 minutes of sudden death, the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final was an soccer match that took place on July 10, 1999, to determine the winner of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The host United States and China played to a scoreless draw following double golden goal extra ...

was decided by a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

between the U.S. and China. The five American players to take penalty kicks converted while China missed one attempt so that the U.S. won. The final surpassed the 1996 Atlanta Olympic final as the most-attended women's sports event, with more than 90,000 people filling the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It held the record until 2014 for the largest U.S. television audience for a soccer match with 17,975,000 viewers. , it ranks third following the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

(25,400,000 viewers) and

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

group stage match between the U.S. men's team and Portugal (18,220,000 viewers). A week later, the team met

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

and flew with Hillary and

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator. Clinton was born in Little Rock, Ar ...

Air Force Two Air Force Two is the air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the vice president of the United States, but not the president. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified ...

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

2000 Sydney Olympics and 100th cap

In August 2000, Parlow was named to the U.S. squad for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Australia by head coach

April Heinrichs April Dawn Heinrichs (born February 27, 1964) is an American former soccer player and coach. She was among the first players on the United States women's national soccer team, and was captain of the United States team which won the first ever ...

. Parlow finished 2000 with 19 goals, the highest on the national team. In June, she scored a hat-trick against both

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

during the Pacific Cup in Australia. In August, she scored a brace against Russia during a 9–1 win. On July 3, 2001, Parlow gained her 100th international cap in a 1-0 friendly win over Canada, making her the youngest footballer—male or female—to do so.

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup

In August 2003, Parlow was named to the roster for the

by head coach

. During the team's group stage match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, she scored a header goal off a corner kick from Mia Hamm in the 36th minute of the U.S.' 3–1 win. The U.S. faced

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in their second group stage match. After Parlow was fouled by the Nigerian captain, Hamm scored on the awarded penalty kick to open the game's scoring. Parlow scored the U.S.' second goal in the 47th minute. The U.S. eventually won 5–0. Parlow, along with fellow starters Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Shannon Boxx were rested during the team's final group stage match: a 3–0 win against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

before advancing to the quarter-finals where they faced long-time rival

. Parlow started the match and was subbed off for

Tiffeny Milbrett Tiffeny Carleen Milbrett (born October 23, 1972) is an American former professional soccer forward who was a longtime member of the United States women's national team. In May 2018 the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced Milbrett will be ens ...

in the 72nd minute of the 1–0 win. The U.S. was defeated 3-0 by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the semi-finals. During the first half of third-place match against

, Parlow sustained a concussion and was removed from the match. The U.S. went on to win 3–1 to secure third place at the tournament.

2004 Athens Olympics

Parlow competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in Athens. During the Olympic qualifying tournament, she scored a hat-trick against

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. On October 21, Parlow scored her seventh hat-trick for the national team, moving ahead of

Michelle Akers Michelle Anne Akers (formerly Akers-Stahl; born February 1, 1966) is an American former Association football, soccer player who starred in the FIFA Women's World Cup 1991, 1991 and FIFA Women's World Cup 1999, 1999 Women's World Cup and Footbal ...

in the record books and one fewer than Mia Hamm.

Retirement

On July 30, 2006, Parlow announced her retirement from international play, citing

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), also known as persisting symptoms after concussion, is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or years after a concussion. PCS is medically classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About ...

. She concluded her career with 158

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

(the ninth most in United States Women's National team history) and 75 goals (fifth most).

Club

Raleigh Wings

In February 1999 Parlow signed for

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

club Raleigh Wings. She helped the Wings retain the W-League title, scoring against the Chicago Cobras in the championship game.

Atlanta Beat: 2001–03

Parlow was one of the twenty founding players of the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Uni ...

(WUSA), the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, and captained the Atlanta Beat. She led the team to the playoffs in each of the league's three seasons of operation (2001–2003). During the 2001 WUSA season, Parlow's five goals ranked first on the Beat and her seven assists ranked first. During a match against the Philadelphia Charge on May 24, 2001, she scored a goal in the second minute of the match. On June 17, she scored a brace against the San Diego Spirit, including the game-winning goal to win 3–2. She earned the league's first

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

during the same match after an altercation with

Julie Foudy Julie Maurine Foudy ( ; born January 23, 1971) is an American retired soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1988 to 2004 ...

. Foudy was given a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

. She scored another brace on July 22 to defeat the

New York Power The New York Power was an American professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional soccer league for women in the United States. The team played at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale ...

2–0. The league folded in September - five days before the

in the United States (originally slated for China, but moved due to the

SARS epidemic Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the virus SARS-CoV-1, the first identified strain of the SARS-related coronavirus. The first known cases occurred in November 2002, and the synd ...

. Atlanta finished the regular season in first place with a record securing a spot in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. During the semi-final match against the Philadelphia Charge, Parlow scored an equalizer in the 79th minute. During the second overtime period, she scored the league's first

golden goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

to advance the Beat to the

Founders Cup The Founders' Cup is the championship trophy of Canada's Junior "B" lacrosse leagues. The custodial duties of this trophy fall upon the Lacrosse Canada (LC). The national champions are determined through a round robin format with a play-down f ...

championship match where they were defeated in penalty shots by the

San Jose CyberRays San Jose CyberRays was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San José State University in San Jose, California. Stars included U.S. National T ...

in front of 21,078 fans at

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...

in Boston. During the

2002 WUSA season The 2002 Women's United Soccer Association season was the second season for WUSA, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on April 13 and ended on August 11. The playoffs began on August 1 ...

, Parlow scored five goals and provided four assists ranking third on the team with 14 points. After playing the first two games of the season, Parlow was forced to miss the third due to FIFA rules and national team commitments. She scored a goal against the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

despite playing with a broken nose suffered in the fifth minute of the game. Playing against the New York Power on June 9, she scored a goal and recorded an assist to

Charmaine Hooper Charmaine Elizabeth Hooper (born January 15, 1968) is a Canadian retired soccer player. A four-time winner of the Canadian Players of the Year award and member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, Hooper played on the Canada women's national so ...

lifting the team to a 2–0 win. The Beat finished the regular season in fourth place with a record and advanced to the Playoffs. They were defeated 2-1 by the

Carolina Courage Carolina Courage was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Fetzer Field on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in 2001, and then at the soccer-specific SAS Stadium in Cary, North Carolina i ...

in the semi-finals. Parlow returned to the Beat for the

2003 WUSA season The 2003 Women's United Soccer Association season was the third and final season for WUSA, the first top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on April 5 and ended on August 10. The playoffs beg ...

. On June 23, she scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against the Philadelphia Charge ending a three-game winless streak. The Beat finished in second place with a record two points behind Boston. They defeated the San Diego Spirit during the semifinals and advanced for the second time to the WUSA Founders Cup where they faced the

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom may refer to: * Washington Freedom (cricket) * Washington Freedom (soccer) {{dab ...

led by

and

Abby Wambach Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired Association football, soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on ...

. The Freedom won 2–1.

International goals

Coaching career

North Carolina Tar Heels, 2007–2012

Parlow Cone was an assistant coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2007 to 2012. In 2012, she led practices while head coach Anson Dorrance spent time with his wife who was ill. He noted, "I had no issue telling the world she was my secret weapon." , the season marked the last time the Tar Heels won the national championship (despite being the winningest team in the history of collegiate soccer). She was also the director of coaching for under-15 to under-18 girls' soccer at Triangle United, a youth soccer club in Chapel Hill, for six years until 2012.

Portland Thorns FC, 2013

In December 2012, Parlow Cone was hired as the head coach for

ahead of the inaugural season of the

(NWSL). She became the first head coach to win an NWSL Championship, as Thorns FC beat Western New York Flash 2–0 in the first ever championship game August 31, 2013. She resigned as head coach on December 5, 2013, citing personal reasons, particularly the desire of her and her husband,

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

director of sports science John Cone (who also resigned around the same time), to be together more. Parlow Cone served on the coaching staff for the under-14 and under-15 girls’ national teams from 2010 to 2013. In 2015, she coached at the Berkshire Soccer Academy for Girls along with her former teammates

Kristine Lilly Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey (; born July 22, 1971) is an American former professional soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport (m ...

Tisha Venturini Tisha Lea Venturini-Hoch (; born March 3, 1973) is a former American soccer player and current National Spokesperson for Produce for Better Health. She is a gold medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and a world champion in the 1999 FIFA Wo ...

, and

Brandi Chastain Brandi Denise Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is an American retired soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold-medalist, coach, and sports broadcaster. She played for the United States national team from 1988 ...

. In 2019, she became a director of coaching for NCFC Youth, the youth division of

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional association football, soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Caro ...

Sports executive career

Parlow Cone served on U.S. Soccer's Referee Committee, Medical Advisory Committee, Appeals Committee, the Athletes’ Council, and Youth Task Force. She was elected as Vice President of U.S. Soccer on February 16, 2019, filling the vacancy created when

became president in February 2018. She was re-elected Vice President in February 2020 for a full four-year term. In early March 2020, Parlow Cone was named President of U.S. Soccer after Carlos Cordeiro suddenly resigned after a growing outcry from players, board members, supporters and sponsors over assertions made in court documents. One of her first acts as president was to apologize for a recent legal brief and "offensive assertions made by the Federation that do not represent our core values." Running unopposed, she was re-elected President in February 2021 to finish the final year of Cordeiro's term. On March 5, 2022, she was re-elected as president for a new four-year term, defeating Cordeiro in a weighted vote 52.9-47.1%.

In popular culture

Following the success of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, Parlow and her teammates were featured on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' as the Sportswomen of the Year. In 2005, she was featured in the film, '' Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team''. In 2008, she was featured in ''Winning Isn't Everything, The Untold Story of a Soccer Dynasty'', a documentary film about the success of the Tar Heels women's soccer program and its players. In 2013, she was featured in the ESPN series, ''

Nine for IX ''Nine for IX'' is the title for a series of documentary films which aired on ESPN. The documentaries were produced by ESPN Films in conjunction with espnW, and were intended to have the same creative, story-driven aspect as ESPN Films' other ser ...

:'' The '99ers. In 2015, she was featured in HBO's ''

Real Sports ''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel'' is an American monthly sports news magazine that aired on HBO from April 2, 1995 to December 19, 2023. The program was presented by television journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel. Overview Format Each ...

''.

Other work

In 2015, Parlow Cone worked with the U.S. Department of State's Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative to work with Jordanian under-17 national soccer team during a 10-day exchange program. She has been a leader in raising awareness about concussion safety. In December 2018, she was a presenter at the Draw for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Personal life

In 2007, she married John Cone, a former soccer player and coach.

References

External links

*
US Soccer President profile

Olympics player profile

Cindy Parlow US Soccer player profile

Atlanta Beat player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parlow, Cindy 1978 births Living people United States women's international soccer players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer Olympic silver medalists for the United States in soccer North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players Women's United Soccer Association players Atlanta Beat (WUSA) players FIFA Women's Century Club American women's soccer players Portland Thorns FC head coaches National Women's Soccer League head coaches Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players FIFA Women's World Cup–winning players People from Germantown, Tennessee Soccer players from Memphis, Tennessee Women's association football midfielders American women's soccer coaches Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Hermann Trophy women's winners Presidents of the United States Soccer Federation National Soccer Hall of Fame members Raleigh Wings players USL W-League (1995–2015) players 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen