Sunil Gulati (born July 30, 1959) is the current president of the United States Soccer Federation and a member of Economics faculty of Columbia University. He was formerly President of Kraft Soccer for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer, and is a special advisor to The Kraft Group and the Kraft family.

Elected in March 2006, Gulati is one of the most influential figures in the development of US soccer over the past 30 years. Former USSF president and Major League Soccer founder Alan Rothenberg called Gulati "the single most important person in the development of soccer in this country.". Gulati served as USSF Vice-President for six years and played a key role in major USSF decisions for many years prior to his election as president. In February 2009, Gulati announced that US Soccer will bid for the right to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. He chaired the World Cup USA Bid Committee Board of Directors.

In practice, the USSF has a full-time professional staff in Chicago to handle the federation's day-to-day business (in addition to training/development facilities in Florida and California). This provides Gulati with the ability to maintain a parallel, full-time career in academia. He is currently in his second stint as a highly regarded lecturer in economics at Columbia University, having previously served on the Columbia Economics Faculty from 1986 to 1990. At Columbia, Gulati teaches Principles of Economics, Global economics and Sports Economics. Sports economics often heavily over-subscribed, with students known to camp out overnight to secure a place.

Joseph S. Blatter (born 10 March 1936), commonly known as Sepp ("Giuseppe") Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007 and 2011.

Despite winning four terms as President, Blatter has often been dogged by controversy and allegations of corruption. His tenure has seen controversy over allegations of financial mismanagement and the acceptance of bribes resulting in Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid. Blatter personally has attracted criticism from the media, senior football figures and players due to several controversial statements. These include suggesting that female football players should wear tighter shorts to appear more attractive to men, that Latin American countries would 'applaud' John Terry for having an extramarital affair, that homosexuals should 'refrain from any sexual activity' while attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and that on-field racism could be corrected with a 'handshake'. Blatter also received criticism for not postponing his 2011 election in which his term as FIFA President was extended through 2015, despite the fact that all other candidates for the role had been suspended or withdrew. Prior to his election as FIFA President, Blatter was a senior FIFA official for 23 years. In his earlier professional life, Blatter held a variety of senior management positions in several Swiss organizations.

Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American association football player for Los Angeles Galaxy and the United States men's national soccer team. He usually plays as a withdrawn forward, and can also be used as an attacking midfielder on either wing.

A member of the inaugural class of the U.S. Soccer residency program in Bradenton, Florida, Donovan was declared player of the tournament for his role in the national U-17 team that finished fourth in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship, Donovan later signed with the German side Bayer Leverkusen. After six years with the club, the majority of which was spent on loan at the San Jose Earthquakes, Donovan moved to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005, though he returned to the Bundesliga for a three-month spell at the start of 2009 on loan to Bayern Munich. He went on loan again from January to March 2010 with English Premier League side Everton, where he scored twice in ten appearances.

For the United States national team, Donovan is the all-time leader in scoring and assists, and has the most caps of all active players. He is a four-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award (the only male to do so and the only male to win in consecutive years), as well as the only three-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award, having won it seven times. His goals in the 2010 World Cup made Donovan the highest scoring American player in World Cup history and the third American player to score in more than one World Cup (after Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey).

Robert "Bob" Bradley (born March 3, 1958 in Montclair, New Jersey) is an American soccer coach and the current manager of the Egypt national football team, taking over in September 2011. He previously managed the United States men's national soccer team. Before taking over the United States national team in December 2006, he previously coached in the American college game and later in Major League Soccer, managing the Chicago Fire, MetroStars, and Chivas USA over nine seasons. His son Michael Bradley, is a professional footballer who plays for Serie A club Chievo Verona and the U.S. national team.

Bradley was born and raised in New Jersey, playing soccer at West Essex High School and Princeton University. Following his graduation from Princeton, Bradley briefly worked in the Procter & Gamble's executive training program before entering the Ohio University sports management program in 1981. While there, Bradley's managing career started when he was named the manager of Ohio University's Division 1 soccer program at the age of 22.