WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Many Critics Are Bothered by Concentration of Power
The soccer community has leveled most of its criticism at Alan Rothenberg because of his apparent desire to control all parts of soccer.
Rothenberg was elected president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, but in four years he has also taken over the World Cup effort and the proposed professional league, Major League Soccer.
Critics have charged that three men should be running the separate entities.
“Throughout the federation, the perception is that Alan is wearing too many hats,” said Edward Eid, a member of the Colorado Soccer Federation’s board of directors.
Said Rothenberg: “What some people call a conflict of interest, I call a confluence of interest. We need all of these things working together.”
More eyebrows were raised when money--about $2 million--was funneled from nonprofit World Cup USA 94, Inc., to the for-profit pro league as a start-up loan, with Rothenberg in charge of both operations.
MLS is scheduled to begin play next summer, but as of early June, had not even chosen all the cities with teams.
Rothenberg says FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, mandated that his World Cup group use 30% of its funds to begin the new pro league. It is a claim others refute.
Rothenberg put himself in charge of the league after submitting a business plan that was accepted by the USSF.
It has become such a sticky issue that Rothenberg has asked the IRS for a tax ruling, even though two independent tax-law firms said there were no problems.
“Everything has been according to the original script,” said Rothenberg, referring to FIFA mandates and World Cup board approvals. “There has been no criticisms until a couple of people, for their own political purposes, had ambitions to run for presidency of the USSF and had to look for some issue, and they created it.”
Said Eid, who is not running for office: “Basically the federation members want to know, why is the same little group of people participating in making all the money?”
During World Cup’s early years, former executives worried that Rothenberg was trying to make money in a different way.
Two sources said that after one meeting with television executives, Rothenberg signed off on an invoice that would have paid his law firm, Latham & Watkins, for his time. After a meeting with Rothenberg and the law firm, the invoice was canceled.
Despite the recent pace of World Cup preparations, Rothenberg is still working for his firm. He was spotted in a federal courtroom recently, representing a client for the firm.
“An old friend,” Rothenberg said.
