National Soccer Hall of Fame Announces Final Ballots for Election to 2023 Class
September 7, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – FC Dallas News Release
FRISCO, Texas – The National Soccer Hall of Fame at Toyota Stadium today released the names of the finalists for election to the Class of 2023, including 20 on the Player ballot, 10 on the Veteran ballot and four on the Builder ballot.
The finalists were announced on ESPN+ during halftime of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final between Orlando City SC and Sacramento Republic FC.
The Hall of Fame Voting Committees will meet over the next several weeks and then vote to select a maximum of six new members; as many as three Players and two Veterans can be selected, along with one Builder.
The 2023 Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, May 6.
Player Ballot Finalists
DaMarcus Beasley
David Beckham
Lori Chalupny
Lauren Cheney Holiday
Brian Ching
Dwayne DeRosario
Landon Donovan
Maurice Edu
Thierry Henry
Eddie Johnson
Keith Johnson
Jermaine Jones
Shalrie Joseph
Robbie Keane
Lori Lindsey
Pablo Mastroeni
Josh McKinney
Oguchi Onyewu
Cat Reddick Whitehill
Nick Rimando
Five candidates – DaMarcus Beasley, Dwayne DeRosario, Landon Donovan, Jermaine Jones and Nick Rimando – were selected to the Final ballot in their first year of eligibility. In all, 13 of the 20 Player finalists return from 2022. Lori Lindsey and Keith Johnson were selected as finalists after not being chosen last year.
Beckham, Ching and Mastroeni are in their final year of eligibility in the Player category; if they are not elected, they will move to the Veteran Eligibility List next year.
Jamar Beasley, Bobby Boswell, Christian Gomez and Chris Pontius did not receive any votes and will be removed from the Player Eligibility List via the sunset rule. They will regain eligibility on the Veteran list after 10 full years of retirement.
Veteran Ballot Finalists
Chris Armas
Chico Borja
Mary Harvey
Frankie Hejduk
Clint Mathis
Shep Messing
Tony Sanneh
Kate Sobrero Markgraf
Tisha Venturini-Hoch
Slavisa “Steve” Zungul
Builder Ballot Finalists
Clive Charles
Jill Ellis
Lothar Osiander
Frank Yallop
Builders are listed in three categories: referees, coaches, and owners and administrators. Based on the rotation established in 2020, only coaches are being considered for the 2023 Builder Final Ballot.
The two Players, one Veteran and one Builder who receive the most votes and are named on more than 50% of the ballots are automatically elected to the Hall of Fame. A third Player and a second Veteran may be elected if they are named to at least 75% of the ballots.
Complete information about election and eligibility procedures is available at nationalsoccerhof.com. The election process is administered by National Soccer Hall of Fame staff under election and eligibility guidelines established by the Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
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