SUM Chief Kathy Carter Announces She's Running for U.S. Soccer President

A day after Sunil Gulati announced he would not be running again, the head of Soccer United Marketing has thrown her hat in the ring for the U.S. Soccer presidential election.

Soccer United Marketing president Kathy Carter has thrown her hat into the U.S. Soccer election ring.

Carter will run for federation president becoming the first woman in what is now an eight-person field leading up to the Dec. 12 deadline for candidates to receive the nominations necessary in order to run. Carter, a former MLS and AEG vice president, makes her announcement a day after longtime president Sunil Gulati said he would not be seeking re-election after 12 years in charge. 

Over the weekend, SI.com's Grant Wahl reported that Gulati was considering stepping out of the race and backing Carter, though he did not publicly endorse Carter or any other candidate in his announcement on Monday. Carter has indeed joined the race, though will take a leave of absence from her role at SUM until the election. Should she win, she would resign from her post, according to the New York Times.

I'm excited to announce my candidacy for President of @ussoccer. Soccer can, and should, become the leading sport in America, and I intend to make that vision a reality. Thrilled for you to get to know me and my vision for the game. https://t.co/8NVQanibat pic.twitter.com/n5TZWnT1SN

— Kathy Carter (@kathycarter28) December 5, 2017

Carter posted an open letter on Tuesday explaining her platform and reasoning for running.

Carter adds herself to a crowded field that currently includes former U.S. player and NBC Sports analyst Kyle Martino; former U.S. player and Fox Sports analyst Eric Wynalda; former U.S. player Paul Caligiuri; current U.S. Soccer vice president Carlos Cordeiro; New York-based lawyer Michael Winograd; Massachusetts youth soccer official Paul Lapointe and Boston-based lawyer Steve Gans.

The election will be held on Feb. 10 at U.S. Soccer's annual general meeting in Orlando, Florida.