Carla Overbeck Leadership Award

Carla Overbeck Leadership Award

At the US Soccer Federation Annual General Meeting held in San Diego, CA, in March 2023, a special recognition of Carla Overbeck’s contribution to American soccer was announced by USSF CEO Cindy Parlow Cone (NCSHOF Class of 2017) and was presented for the first time at the awards dinner on Saturday night after the AGM business meetings and convocations had ended.

The recognition is in the form of a new award, the Carla Overbeck Leadership Award,

established by the United States Soccer Federation. The award is described on the USSF

website:

The Carla Overbeck Leadership Award will be given to an individual who demonstrates a unique ability to lead and guide others and who contributes to the success of an initiative that benefits those outside their own organization and places emphasis on collaboration within and among leadership.

In her comments, Cone said about Carla:

When we were discussing creating our first award to be handed out tonight – one focused on leadership – I instantly knew who it would be named after.

Carla Overbeck is a name that maybe isn’t as well-known from our ’96 Olympic Gold Medal Team or ’99

Women’s World Cup winning team…

But she was THE Leader of those teams.

The fact that those outside our sport may not know her name as much is exactly what the winner of this award is all about.

Someone who can motivate and guide others.

Someone who does the little things, without the fanfare.

Someone who builds trust and has unwavering credibility.

A mentor, a teammate, a teacher…a leader. Let’s watch this video that gives a little more insight on tonight’s first award.

It’s my extreme pleasure to introduce a woman I looked up to when I was 17 and still do today 25 years later…

Please welcome former captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team and Hall of Famer Carla Overbeck.

Carla Overbeck was inducted into the NC Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001.

Congratulations, Carla! The entire NC Soccer Hall of Fame family applauds you for the

recognition bestowed on you by USSF!