U.S. Soccer elected Carlos Cordeiro as its 32nd president on Sunday (AEDT) in Orlando. 

Cordeiro, who won on the third ballot, replaces Sunil Gulati and will serve a four-year term. He won the first contested U.S. Soccer presidential election since 1998, emerging victorious from an eight-candidate field that also featured Paul Caligiuri, Kathy Carter, Steve Gans, Kyle Martino, Hope Solo, Michael Winograd and Eric Wynalda.

Cordeiro received just 36.3 per cent of the vote during the first round of voting, but then received 41.8 per cent in the second round and finally 68.6 per cent in the third and final round.

Cordeiro becomes president after serving in various roles with U.S. Soccer since 2007. He has been vice president since 2016. 

The United States men's national team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, marking the first time since 1986 it has been left out of the finals.

After failing to qualify, U.S. Soccer fired manager Bruce Arena, who was serving his second stint with the national team. One of Cordeiro's first orders of business will be finding a replacement.

The US is also bidding to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.