Gulati, Wambach added to US National Soccer Hall of Fame
The US Soccer Federation has announced the new members of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. They are to be inducted in Frisco, Texas, in September.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame has added two members to the Class of 2019, legendary forward Abby Wambach and former United States Soccer president Sunil Gulati.
Wambach and Gulati will be officially recognised at the National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on 21 September, in Frisco, Texas.
Abby Wambach
Wambach is the all-time leading scorer in women's international soccer; she starred in four World Cups, winning one in 2015. She also featured in two Olympic Games, amassing a total of 255 international appearances for the US women's national team (USWNT) from 2001 to 2015.
Wambach has several individual awards, such as being part of the USWNT's All-Time Best XI in 2013, and being named US Soccer's Female Athlete of the Year six times, in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012. She also won CONCACAF Female Player of the Year in 2014 and FIFA Women's World Player of the Year in 2012.
Wambach scored 14 in 19 World Cup games, and nine in 11 Olympics appearances.
Sunil Gulati
Gulati served as the US Soccer Federation president from 2006 through 2018, being re-elected in 2008 and 2012. During his tenure, the USWNT won a couple of World Cups, and the men's national team reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002.
Gulati has been a member of the FIFA Council since 2013, previously serving as US Soccer Committee chairman in the 1980s. He was executive vice-president of the 1994 World Cup Organising Committee, deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer from 1995 to 1999 and executive vice-president of US Soccer from 2000 to 2006. Gulati played a big part in the US' successful bid to host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico.