COLUMBUS, Ohio — Four weeks before delegates meet to elect the next president of the United States Soccer Federation, Eric Wynalda was in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday to address the state of soccer in a town hall before about 100 angry fans of the local Major League Soccer team.
It was unlikely that anybody in attendance had a vote in the election, but that did not matter to Wynalda. In a crowded field of eight candidates, Wynalda, 48, has positioned himself as the voice of the frustrated American soccer fan, a surging demographic since the men’s national team failed to qualify for this summer’s World Cup.