US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker leaves for role with Saudi Arabia
Matt Crocker looks on during Mauricio Pochettino's first press conference as head coach of the U. S. Mens National Team at Hudson Yards on September 13, 2024 in New York City.
Photograph: Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker will be leaving his post with less than two months to go until the 2026 World Cup, US Soccer announced on Tuesday. The Guardian can also confirm FOX Sports’ earlier reporting that Crocker is taking up a similar role with the Saudi Arabia football federation. US soccer said Crocker’s duties going forward will be shared by chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, assistant sporting director Oguchi Onyewu, women’s youth national team head of development Tracy Kevins, and “the broader sporting leadership team.
” Related: USMNT World Cup squad predictions: how we see the 26 for 2026 “Matt helped guide important steps across our sporting organization, and we’re grateful for his contributions,” US Soccer CEO JT Batson said in a statement released by the federation. “We will continue building the right structure for the future, and we’re well positioned to make the decisions needed in the short, medium, and long term. ” Crocker was hired in 2023 after previous sporting director Earnie Stewart left to take up a similar role at PSV Eindhoven.
Crocker arrived after a lengthy period in English football, where he won praise for his work in player development in his roles as technical director at Southampton and then with England from 2013-2020, where he was tasked with modernizing the Three Lions’ playing style . His position with US Soccer gave Crocker wide-ranging control over the operations of all US national teams, including the youth setups for the men’s and women’s programs. His most public-facing responsibility, through, was the hiring of managers for the men’s and women’s senior sides.
Crocker made two men’s hires over his tenure. Among his first decisions was to re-hire Gregg Berhalter as USMNT manager after the federation allowed his contract to lapse and then placed him under investigation due to a convoluted drama involving attacking midfielder Gio Reyna and his family and decades-old domestic violence allegations against Berhalter and his now-wife. US Soccer later said the incident was isolated, and Berhalter spoke openly about it in several settings.