The nominees for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2018 have been announced, and former United players Bobby Convey and Eddie Johnson are among the players eligible for induction for the first time this year.
Convey made 89 regular season appearances with the Black-and-Red between 2000 and 2004. He scored eight goals and added 16 assists, and was a 2001 MLS All-Star. The midfielder also participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup with the USMNT.
Johnson spent 2014 and 2015 with United, scoring seven goals and notching three assists in 2014. The forward was a member of the U.S.' 2006 FIFA World Cup squad and was a 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup champion. Johnson and Convey join fellow Black-and-Red legends like Ben Olsen, Tony Sanneh, and others on the ballot.
To be eligible for selection in the player category, an individual must have been retired for at least three full calendar years, but for no more than 10 full calendar years AND meet one of the following criteria:
- A player must have played at least 20 full international games for the United States. This 20-game requirement is reduced to 10 games if the games were prior to 1990.
- A player must have played at least five seasons in an American first-division professional league and been a postseason league all-star at least once.
- Played at least five seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League between the end of the NASL in 1984 and the end of the MISL in 1992 and been selected as a first-team postseason all-star in at least one of those seasons.
Voting will begin Monday, March 12 and run through Monday, March 26. The voting committee includes all past and present Men's and Women's full National Team coaches, all active MLS and NWSL head coaches with a minimum of four years of experience as a head coach at the highest professional level in the United States, MLS and NWSL management representatives, the MLS Commissioner and NWSL Executive Director, U.S. Soccer CEO/Secretary General, U.S. Soccer President, designated media members and all Hall of Famers.
Each voter can select 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 removed from voting contention until they qualify for the Veteran ballot.
See below for the full ballots for the player, veteran, and builder categories.
2018 National Soccer Hall of Fame Player Ballot (* indicates first year of eligibility)
Juan Pablo Angel
David Beckham
Gregg Berhalter
Carlos Bocanegra
Steve Cherundolo
Brian Ching
Bobby Convey
Jeff Cunningham
Jay DeMerit
Brad Friedel
Kevin Hartman
Frankie Hejduk
Thierry Henry
Stuart Holden
Eddie Johnson
Chris Klein
Eddie Lewis
Lori Lindsey*
Kate Sobrero Markgraf
Pablo Mastroeni
Clint Mathis
Tiffeny Milbrett
Heather Mitts
Jaime Moreno
Ben Olsen
Pat Onstad
Steve Ralston
Ante Razov
Tony Sanneh
Taylor Twellman
Aly Wagner
Josh Wolff
2018 National Soccer Hall of Fame Veteran Ballot
Mike Burns
Kevin Crow
John Doyle
Marco Etcheverry
Linda Hamilton
Shep Messing
Cindy Parlow
Tiffany Roberts
Tisha Venturini-Hoch
2018 National Soccer Hall of Fame Builder Ballot
Esse Baharmast
Dr. Robert Contiguglia
Joe Cummings
Tim Leiweke
Francisco Marcos
Kevin Payne
Steve Sampson
