April 25, (THEWILL) – Matt Crocker, the current Director of Football at Southampton, has been appointed as the new Sporting Director of US Soccer, with the hiring of a new coach for the US men’s national team being his top priority.
Crocker’s appointment follows a two-month search to replace Earnie Stewart, who stepped down from the role in February to join Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. The US men’s national team has been without a permanent head coach since the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.
“I am honoured and excited to join US Soccer as the new Sporting Director,” Crocker said. “This is a tremendous opportunity to build an elite program and to help raise the level of soccer in the United States. As Sporting Director, my immediate focus will be on supporting the women’s national team as they prepare for the upcoming World Cup and on hiring a head coach for the men’s national team.”
Crocker replaces Stewart at a time of turmoil for the US men’s national team. World Cup coach Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired after the tournament, but his future was thrown into question after an investigation into decades-old allegations of domestic violence.
Although the subsequent US Soccer investigation cleared Berhalter to remain as a potential candidate for reappointment, Crocker declined to comment on individual candidates, stating that his focus was on finding the right process to make the right hire as quickly as possible.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
