CHICAGO (Oct. 19, 2018) – The Induction Ceremony for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2018 will be streamed on the new National Soccer Hall of Fame website beginning at 4:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 20. The ceremony will also stream live on the Hall of Fame’s Facebook, Twitter (@soccerhof) and YouTube accounts, as well as the Facebook accounts of Major League Soccer and the New England Revolution.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2018 includes former U.S. Soccer president Dr. Bob Contiguglia on the Builder ballot, players Tiffeny Milbrett and Brad Friedel on the Player ballot as well as Cindy Parlow Cone on the Veteran ballot. Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, who was elected to the 2016 class but wished to be enshrined this year to honor the Hunt family as part of the celebrations surrounding the opening of the new NSHOF location, and legendary broadcaster JP Dellacamera, winner of the 2018 Colin Jose Media Award, will also be honored during the induction ceremony.
The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be followed by performances from the Revivalists and Grammy Award-winning band, Imagine Dragons, presented by Budweiser; gates open at 6 p.m. CT. The weekend will also include the 2018 Hall of Fame game featuring FC Dallas and Sporting KC on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. CT and the NASL 50th anniversary match.
About the National Soccer Hall of Fame
The National Soccer Hall of Fame was originally founded in 1950 by the Philadelphia Old-Timers Association to recognize individuals for their outstanding contributions to American soccer. In 1979, the National Soccer Museum, as a physical entity, was established in Oneonta, N.Y. It was officially recognized as the National Soccer Hall of Fame by the U.S. Soccer Federation in 1983.
In June of 1999, the National Soccer Hall of Fame opened a 30,000 square-foot museum in Oneonta, NY where it housed a collection of more than 80,000 items and artifacts such as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy, the oldest soccer ball made in the U.S. and the 1994 FIFA World Cup U.S. archive. The facility closed in February of 2010.
In 2013, FC Dallas owners, Clark and Dan Hunt, launched a campaign to bring the Hall of Fame to Frisco, Texas. Their late father, Lamar Hunt, was inducted in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1982. In 1999, he received the Hall’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor. He remains one of only three individuals to have won the award.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame is scheduled to open to the public on Nov. 2, 2018.