Sunil Gulati
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Sunil Gulati ( ; born July 30, 1959) is an American sports administrator who presided over 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 ...
(USSF) from 2006 to 2018. On April 19, 2013, he was elected to a four-year term on the FIFA Council. In March 2014, he was unanimously reelected to a record third four-year term as USSF president, having been elected initially in 2006 and reelected again in 2010. Gulati is also a senior lecturer in the
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
department of
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. He is the former president of Kraft Soccer for the New England Revolution in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
. On December 4, 2017, Gulati announced that he would not seek a fourth term as president of the U.S. Soccer Federation. On February 10, 2018, he was succeeded by his vice president Carlos Cordeiro.


Early life and education

Gulati was born in Allahabad, India in Punjabi refugee family, originally from West Punjab. His family moved to
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
when he was five years old, and he grew up playing soccer. Gulati is an alumnus of Cheshire High School in Cheshire, Connecticut. He graduated magna cum laude from
Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...
and earned his M.A. and M.Phil. in economics at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. In 1991, he joined the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
through its Young Professionals Program and served as country economist for
Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
.


Soccer development service

Gulati has a longstanding involvement in the administration 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 ...
, with former USSF president and Major League Soccer founder Alan Rothenberg calling Gulati "the single most important person in the development of soccer in this country". Gulati first became involved with the USSF through his employment as a youth coach and administrator in local Connecticut leagues while attending college. Gulati became a prominent volunteer federation staffer and adviser in the 1980s during the presidency of Werner Fricker, and began working in the game full-time upon taking the job of deputy commissioner of
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
when the league was formed following the 1994 FIFA World Cup hosted by the U.S., which Gulati played a major role in organizing. Gulati was elected USSF President in March 2006, succeeding Robert Contiguglia; Gulati had served as federation vice president for six years and played a key role in major USSF board decisions for many years prior to his election as president. In February 2010, he was re-elected for another four-year term as USSF president. In February 2009, Gulati announced that the USSF would bid for the right to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. He chaired the World Cup U.S. Bid Committee Board of Directors and visited 20 of the 22 member voters on the FIFA Executive Committee. The United States, however, was not selected to host either World Cup. In 2011, he was recognized and awarded the 2011 Trailblazer Award from the Association of South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment (SAMMA) for his outstanding contributions to the world of U.S. sports. In 2012, Sunil Gulati spearheaded the formation of a new professional women's soccer league in the United States. The previous two attempts to form a women's league by the Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer folded in three years. On October 21, 2012, the USSF, the Canadian Soccer Association, and the
Mexican Football Federation The Mexican Football Federation (), abbreviated as FMF is the official governing body of football in Mexico. It administers the men's and women's national teams with all its youth teams, the national teams of futsal and beach soccer, Liga MX wit ...
made a joint announcement on the creation of a new women's soccer league with clubs playing in Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, New Jersey, western New York, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., Gulati advocated a "sustainable economic model", with the new league having a unique feature of the three federations paying the salaries of their national team players who play in this league. In 2018, after the US failed to qualify for the World Cup, Gulati chose not to run for re-election as president, and was succeeded by Carlos Cordeiro. Gulati remained the chairman of the USSF's ultimately successful joint bid with
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
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 ...
to host the
2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...
.


Career in academia

Because 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 ...
has a full-time professional staff handling the federation's day-to-day business, Gulati is able to maintain a parallel, full-time career in academia. Sunil Gulati is a senior lecturer in economics at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, having also previously served on the Columbia economics faculty from 1986 to 1990. At Columbia, Gulati teaches principles of economics, global economics, and sports economics. The sports economics class is often heavily over-subscribed, with students known to camp out overnight to secure a place.


FIFA Executive Committee

Gulati was elected to the FIFA Executive Committee on April 19, 2013, following a narrow 18–17 vote over Mexican Federation of Association Football President Justino Compeán at the
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
Congress in
Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...
, Panama. Of the four executive committee meetings in 2013, Gulati attended three of them. The fourth meeting was held before Gulati's election. Gulati was one of several executive committee members to call for the publication of the Garcia Report into allegations of corruption surrounding Russia and Qatar's bids for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.


Personal life

Gulati lives in the
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
area with his wife and two children.


See also

*
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 ...


References


External links


COLUMBIA, ECONOMICS : Sunil Gulati: Senior Lecturer (profile page)

linkedin.com public profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulati, Sunil 1959 births American Hindus Indian emigrants to the United States Bucknell University alumni Columbia University alumni Columbia University faculty Living people People from Cheshire, Connecticut Major League Soccer executives Presidents of the United States Soccer Federation FIFA officials Sportspeople from Prayagraj American sportspeople of Indian descent Cheshire High School alumni National Soccer Hall of Fame members