Kyle Martino decides to mount bid for U.S. Soccer president

Kyle Martino is no longer resisting the call.

Martino told the New York Times' Marc Stein that he's taking an immediate hiatus from his analyst role on NBC to run for president of U.S. Soccer. The former midfielder decided to leave his "dream job" and mount a bid to replace Sunil Gulati. After the United States men's national team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Gulati said he will not resign and refused to rule out running for re-election.

In October, Martino told Bleacher Report that he seriously considered a run for the presidency of U.S. Soccer but ultimately decided against it. The turnaround means three ex-members of the USMNT now intend to run, including Eric Wynalda, who played at two World Cups, and Paul Caligiuri, whose goal in 1989 booked the Stars and Stripes' flight to the 1990 World Cup.

Also intending to run are:

• Carlos Cordeiro, vice president of U.S. Soccer
• Steve Gans, founder of Professional Soccer Advisors
• Paul Lapointe, manager of the United Premier Soccer League's Northeast Conference
• Michael Winograd, lawyer who played professional soccer in Israel

"This is not about a person for a person," Martino declared. "There's no one person who's going to save U.S. Soccer. This is about a consortium.

"When a club in England is failing and they're in jeopardy of going into administration and disappearing, fans, former players, business people - they all get together with their time, experiences, and resources with the sole purpose of saving a club they love. We need to do that with U.S. Soccer.

"We need a group, to step up and say, 'Enough is enough, we're here to save this thing.' I can mobilize that group."

Martino explained why he's running on his campaign website, writing that "many conversations over recent weeks have convinced me that I need to step forward. U.S. Soccer is at the lowest point of its modern existence, with failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup merely a symptom of bigger issues. We need a change, not just of direction but of vision and ambition. It's time to to put soccer back at the center of the United States Soccer Federation."

The campaign website mentions that a progress plan to "put U.S. Soccer back where it should be" will be available in the coming weeks, and will be based on three tenets: transparency, equality, and progress. Letters of recommendation from David Beckham and Thierry Henry, who both took the pitch in Major League Soccer, are also included.

Stein suggests Martino, as arguably the most prominent name in the race, could be "the biggest threat" to the incumbent.

Gulati, U.S. Soccer president since 2006, ran unopposed in three campaigns.