Former US Soccer Federation secretary general Hank Steinbrecher dies at age 77
CHICAGO (AP) — Hank Steinbrecher, who helped revive the U.S. Soccer Federation during a decade in charge as its women's team became the world's dominant power, died Tuesday at his home in Tucson, Arizona. He was 77.
The USSF said Steinbrecher had degenerative heart disease.
Steinbrecher was hired as secretary general and executive director in November 1990, four months after the U.S. finished 23rd among 24 nations in its first World Cup appearance in 40 years. Short on money, the USSF had left its office in New York's Empire State Building in the 1980s and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is located.
Following the 1990 World Cup, Alan Rothenberg replaced Werner Fricker as USSF president in a campaign instigated by FIFA. Rothenberg then hired Steinbrecher, who had been director of sports marketing at The Quaker Oats Co. in charge of Gatorade, to replace Keith Walker.
Steinbrecher led the move of the office to a pair of refurbished mansions in Chicago and the USSF tripled its staff to more than 100 by the time he resigned in March 2000. The U.S. won the first Women's World Cup in 1991, the Olympic gold medal in 1996 and another World Cup in 1999, when the U.S. hosted the tournament. The Americans hosted the men's 1994 World Cup, advancing to the second round before finishing last at the 1998 tournament.
Born in New York City, Steinbrecher was a member of the 1970 NAIA soccer championship team at Davis & Elkins College and got a Master's degree in education from West Virginia.
He coached soccer at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, from 1973-78 — the school named its soccer/lacrosse complex after him in 2020 — then at Appalachian State and Boston University. He served as the Harvard venue director for the 1984 Olympic soccer tournament.
He is survived by wife Ruth Anne and sons Chad and Corey.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
8 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Italy earns much-needed win in World Cup qualifying in parting gift for Spalletti
With a parting gift for Luciano Spalletti, Italy beat Moldova 2-0 on Monday for its first points in the beleaguered national team's attempt to reach the World Cup for the first time since 2014. Spalletti was informed ahead of the game in Reggio Emilia that he would be losing his job as Italy coach in the wake of the team's 3-0 loss in Norway last week, which marked a dreadful way to begin its qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup. Goals by Giacomo Raspadiro and Andrea Cambiaso meant Spalletti at least departed with a victory. Yet the Azzurri remained in a perilous position in Group I, with Norway beating Estonia 1-0 — thanks to Erling Haaland's 62nd-minute goal — to make it four wins from four halfway through qualifying. Italy stayed nine points behind Norway — albeit having played two fewer matches — and might have missed a good chance to rack up some goals to boost its goal difference. Only the top team from each of the 12 groups qualifies automatically for next year's expanded 48-team tournament in North America. The runners-up go into the playoffs — the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia to miss out on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively, in a humiliation for one of Europe's traditional powers. ___ AP soccer:
Hamilton Spectator
10 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Guardiola picks up another honor in Manchester. This one is from its university
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Manchester on Monday to recognize his contribution on and off the field since joining the club in 2016. Guardiola was presented with an honorary doctorate by the university's chancellor at a ceremony to honor his success with City, including leading the team to six Premier League titles and the Champions League, and in the community, notably through his Guardiola Sala Foundation. 'I have spent nine years here and it has become home,' Guardiola said. 'The people, the culture, my incredible football club, my colleagues … it is all so special to me and my family. 'When I arrived here in 2016, I did not know how long I would spend here. The way this city embraced me made everything easy. My time here has been beautiful.' Professor Duncan Ivison, who is the university's president and vice chancellor, described Guardiola as an 'innovator and a winner who has inspired millions of people through his success as a manager.' 'He has played a huge role in making Manchester a global success story,' he said, 'and we are honored that he has chosen to accept this degree. I hope that this forges another important connection between him, the University of Manchester, and the city.' ___ AP soccer:
Hamilton Spectator
10 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
World Cup host city organizers acknowledge immigration crackdown may impact next year's tournament
NEW YORK (AP) — Philadelphia's host city executive for the 2026 World Cup says organizers accept that an immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump's administration may be among the outside events that impact next year's tournament. 'There are certainly things that are happening at the national level, the international level, there are going to be geopolitical issues that we don't even know right now that are going affect the tournament next year, so we recognize that we're planning within uncertainty,' Meg Kane said Monday at a gathering of the 11 U.S. host city leaders, one year and two days ahead of the tournament opener. The World Cup will be played at 16 stadiums in the U.S., Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19 next year, a tournament expanded to 48 nations and 104 games. All matches from the quarterfinals on will be in the U.S., with the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 'Whether it's the Olympics, whether it's a World Cup, whether it's a Super Bowl, you name it, anytime you've got a major international sporting event, geopolitics is going to have a role,' said Alex Vasry, CEO of the New York/New Jersey host committee. Kane said the host committees must adapt to decisions made by others. 'One of the things that I think we all recognize is that we have to be really good at operating within that uncertainty,' Kane said. 'I think for each of our cities, we want to be prepared to make any person that is coming and makes the decision to come to the United States or come to this World Cup feel that they are welcome. We do not play a role necessarily in what is happening in terms of the decisions that are made.' Trump's travel ban on citizens from 12 countries exempted athletes, coaches, staff and relatives while not mentioning fans. 'We allow for FIFA to continue having constructive conversations with the administrations around visas, around workforce, around tourism,' Kane said. FIFA is running the World Cup for the first time without a local organizing committee in the host nation. Asked in late April whether FIFA president Gianni Infantino was available to discuss the tournament, FIFA director of media relations Bryan Swanson forwarded the request to a member of the media relations staff, who did not make Infantino available. Legislation approved by the House of Representatives and awaiting action in the Senate would appropriate $625 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency 'for security, planning, and other costs related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.' The 11 U.S. host committees have been consulting with each other on issues such as transportation for teams and VIPs, and for arranging fan fests. At the last major soccer tournament in the U.S., the 2024 Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, started 82 minutes late after fans breached security gates. 'Certainly we were not involved in the planning or the logistics for that particular match,' said Alina Hudak, CEO of the Miami World Cup host committee. She said local police 'have done an extensive review of the after-action reports related to that in collaboration with the stadium and so all of the things that happened are in fact being reviewed and addressed and I can assure you that everything is being done within our power to make sure that the appropriate measures are being placed, the appropriate perimeters.' ___ AP soccer:
