6. HALL OF FAME: Rothenberg to be inducted

• by Soccer America , Mar 25, 2007

Alan I. Rothenberg, former President of the U.S. Soccer Federation and chairman and chief executive officer of the 1994 World Cup organizing committee, will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Rothenberg's induction will take place on Aug. 26 in ceremonies at the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. Rothenberg will be inducted alongside Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy and a veteran member of the Class of 2007 to be announced in early April.

Rothenberg has worked in soccer for 40 years, beginning as a lawyer for Jack Kent Cooke, the owner of the Los Angeles Wolves of the National Professional Soccer League. Rothenberg was an owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League (1977-80) and served as commissioner of soccer during the very successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where soccer had the largest attendance.

In 1990, he succeeded Werner Fricker as president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, serving two terms. He was made chairman of the World Cup organizing committee and later took over as CEO. The 1994 World Cup set an attendance record of 3,567,415 and made a profit of more than $50 million that later funded the U.S. Soccer Foundation.