The National Soccer Hall of Fame today released the names of the finalists for election to the Class of 2021, including 20 on the Player ballot and 10 apiece on the Veteran and Builder ballots.
Among the finalists are former Chicago Fire standouts Josh Wolff and Tony Sanneh. Former Fire assistant coach Clint Mathis is also up for enshrinement.
Between 1998-2002, Wolff made 106 appearances for Chicago across all competitions, scoring 39 goals and adding 19 assists. He won three championships with the Club, including the famed 1998 double, and played in all four finals the team appeared in during his five seasons with the Fire.
Sanneh appeared 36 times for the Fire from 2005-06, highlighted by a memorable performance in the Club's 2006 U.S. Open Cup final win vs. LA Galaxy. The defender helped shut down a potent LA attack and assisted the game-clinching goal in the 88th minute, earning him Man of the Match honors as Chicago lifted its fourth Open Cup trophy.
The Hall of Fame’s new Selection Committees will vote Friday through Feb. 10 to select a class of two to four members. The 2021 class will be announced in March.
The 2021 Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for May 22 and will enshrine both the 2020 class (Carlos Bocanegra and Colin Jose Media Award Winner Andrés Cantor) and the 2021 class. The ceremony will take place in the National Soccer Hall of Fame, which is powered by NEC, followed by the Hall of Fame game between FC Dallas and a yet-to-be-named opponent and a concert featuring Willie Nelson.
Player Ballot Finalists
- David Beckham
- Gregg Berhalter
- Shannon Boxx
- Lori Chalupny
- Lauren Cheney Holiday
- Steve Cherundolo
- Kevin Hartman
- Frankie Hejduk
- Thierry Henry
- Keith Johnson
- Shalrie Joseph
- Pablo Mastroeni
- Josh McKinney
- Heather Mitts
- Oguchi Onyewu
- Christie Pearce Rampone
- Cat Reddick Whitehill
- Hope Solo
- Aly Wagner
- Josh Wolff
Veteran Ballot Finalists
- Marco Etcheverry
- Linda Hamilton
- Angela Hucles
- Clint Mathis
- Shep Messing
- Jaime Moreno
- Steve Ralston
- Tony Sanneh
- Kate Sobrero Markgraf
- Tisha Venturini-Hoch
Builder Ballot Finalists
- Esse Baharmast
- Clive Charles
- Joe Cummings
- Richard Groff
- Brian Hall
- Sandra Hunt
- Tim Leiweke
- Francisco Marcos
- Kevin Payne
- Kari Seitz
New voting rules and procedures ensure that two to four candidates will be elected annually.
- If both a Veteran and a Builder are being elected, the top two vote earners from the Player ballot also will be elected.
- If either a Veteran or a Builder are not being elected, the top three vote-earning Players will be elected if all three received at least 66.7% of the Voting Committee’s votes.
- If neither a Veteran nor a Builder are being elected, the top three vote-earning Players will be elected if all three received at least 50% of the Voting Committee’s votes.
- Candidates must be named to at least 50% of Voting Committee ballots to be elected.
