[HALL OF FAME] Former U.S. national team stars Cobi Jones and Eddie Pope -- both veterans of three World Cups -- are among the six players in their first year of eligibility for the Player ballot that has been finalized for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011.

Chris Armas, Jason Kreis, Carlos Llamosa and Danielle Slaton are also on the ballot for the first time. Of the 25 players on the Player ballot, only Steve Trittschuh is in his final year of eligibility.

Voting will begin immediately for the Player, Veteran Player and Builder categories and continue through March 11.

The voting pool includes all Hall of Famers, select soccer administrators and designated media members. Each voter can list up to 10 candidates per ballot. Any player appearing on at least 66.7 percent of ballots will earn election, while any player who does not appear on at least five percent of ballots will be dropped from the Player ballot.
 
2011 Player Ballot
Chris Armas
Mike Burns
Mauricio Cienfuegos
Raul Diaz Arce
Marco Etcheverry
Robin Fraser
Chris Henderson
Cobi Jones
Jason Kreis
Roy Lassiter
Carlos Llamosa
Shannon MacMillan
Joe-Max Moore
Victor Nogueira
Peter Nowak
John O’Brien
Cindy Parlow
Eddie Pope
Tiffany Roberts
Danielle Slaton
Earnie Stewart
Steve Trittschuh
Carlos Valderrama
Tisha Venturini-Hoch
Peter Vermes

In addition to the Player ballot, voting is also underway in the Veteran Player and Builder categories. The top vote-getters in both the Veteran and Builder categories will be elected as long as he or she appears on a minimum of 50 percent of the ballots. If no one appears on 50 percent of the ballots, then no one will be elected on the 2011 ballot in that category. More than one candidate may be elected in the event of a tie.
 
2011 Veteran Ballot
Desmond Armstrong
George Best
Julio Cantillo
Teofilo Cubillas
John Doyle
Linda Hamilton
Bill McPherson
Shep Messing
Bruce Murray
Glenn Myernick
 
2011 Builder Ballot
Chuck Blazer
Bob Contiguglia
Tony DiCicco
Bob Gansler
Francisco Marcos
Fritz Marth
Sigi Schmid