Cindy Barlow-Cohn won re-election as NFL president on Saturday after challenging her predecessor Carlos Cordero.
Kuhn won with 52.9% of the weighted vote from the USSR National Assembly, and will now serve a new four-year term ending in 2026, just a few months before the United States hosts the World Cup that year with Canada and Mexico. .
Saturday’s tally was the closest final ballot in American football history.
“The moment of division is now in the past. We are one union. We are one team. I pledge to be the leader of all of us in football,” Barlow Kuhn said after the vote. “I have never been more excited and hopeful about the future of our beautiful game. Our national teams are young, exciting and full of promise. Our professional leagues are at the forefront of driving our sport for grassroots football as vibrant, healthy and vibrant. We are changing lives every day, and we are meant to host one World Cup over the years. Least and show the world what we have to offer.
“Now is the time for all of us to work together. No more divisions. We don’t have time for all that. Now is the time, and I promise each of you a friend and partner as president of the American Football Club.”
Recently, three months ago, Kun looked like she might run unopposed. She took over after Cordero resigned in 2020 when legal filings from the Soviet Union in the equal pay case made derogatory remarks about female players saying they “do not perform equal work requiring equal skills.” [and] An effort “because” the overall ability to play football required to compete at the men’s national team level is materially affected by the level of certain physical attributes such as speed and strength. “
After Cordero’s resignation, Kohn navigated the USSF through the COVID-19 pandemic, and under its watch the Soviet Union reached a settlement in a pay equity lawsuit, as well as a new media rights deal with Turner Sports.
But dissatisfaction with Kuhn’s performance within grassroots government associations led some voters to push Cordero to run for his old position. There were also concerns that the Soviet Union led by Kuhn was wasting an opportunity to grow the sport that comes with hosting the World Cup. Cordero announced his intention to run in early January.
Nevertheless, Barlow Kuhn managed to get enough votes–she garnered several public endorsements from members of the Athletes’ Council, which received 33.3 percent of the weighted vote–to win re-election. On the eve of Saturday’s election, Kohn received endorsements from 32 players on the US women’s national team.
Following the result, USWNT Players spokeswoman Molly Levinson said: “Pay Equality has gone from a whisper in the locker room to a roar on the field to fundamentally change the business of sports and football in the United States and around the world. We look forward to Cindy’s leadership.”