- Kyle Martino is a former American professional soccer player.
- Martino played as a midfielder for the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
- He previously worked as a color analyst for MLS on ESPN’s family of networks.
- In 2018, he left his dream job to run for president of the United States Soccer Federation, the official governing body of American soccer.
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Who is Kyle Martino?
Kyle Martino is a former American professional soccer player. Kyle Martino played as a midfielder for the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
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Kyle Martino retired from professional soccer on February 19, 2008, after doctors advised him that it would be in his best interests to do so due to the seriousness of the injuries he had sustained throughout his career.
Up until the start of the 2020-21 season, the former soccer player worked as a studio analyst and color commentator for NBC Sports’ coverage of the English Premier League.
He previously worked as a color analyst for MLS on ESPN’s family of networks.
He hosted television shows such as NBC’s Spartan Race and the Travel Channel’s 36 Hours in addition to commentating.
What is Kyle Martino up to these days?
Kyle Martino, a retired MLS midfielder, has “never been happier” since ending his seven-year career as an NBC Premier League analyst and his eight-year marriage to Eva Amurri in February 2020.
“I know Eva and I’s decision to be a ‘different’ type of family, and me once again stepping away from a ‘dream job’ to pursue other passions, evokes confusion or even criticism,” Martino wrote on Instagram.
He kept himself busy after his divorce by renovating his new apartment in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood, where he allowed his daughter Marlowe Mae and son Major James to decorate their rooms.
Since his retirement, the father of three has been very busy with a variety of projects.
Martino founded @streetfc with the intention of making it the largest football club in the world.
He also filed a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for Goalpher’s retractable sports goal.
Similarly, the retired Major League Soccer midfielder is the founder of the Over Under Initiative (OUI), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving children’s health and wellness by increasing access to sports in urban communities.
OUI provides more significant play opportunities for children who need these proven benefits by converting basketball courts and other blacktops into multi-sport spaces.
Martino is currently busy resurrecting NYC’s iconic Football Cafe, which opened in 2015 just in time for the world’s greatest sporting event.
Martino announced his decision to leave NBC’s Premier League coverage prior to the 2020-21 season on Instagram on August 18, 2020.
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In 2018, Kyle Martino left his dream job to run for president of the United States Soccer Federation, the official governing body of American soccer.
Following the men’s national team’s shocking failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the incumbent federation president decided not to run for reelection.
Martino was also unhappy with the federation’s lack of accountability and hermetic leadership, which he felt changed the face of American soccer without meaningful input from its members, the state associations in charge of local soccer.
Despite the fact that his idea was popular among federation voters, the ex-soccer player lost the election.