FAYETTEVILLE, GEORGIA — US Soccer announced that Matt Crocker is stepping down as sporting director. Crocker is due to take up a sporting director position with Saudi Arabia.

Crocker arrived at US Soccer in April 2023 in a role that carried a seven-figure salary. US Soccer provided stronger financial support to him than it did to his predecessor, Earnie Stewart.

Upon his arrival, Crocker pledged to guide the US Soccer program into a new era and acknowledged that his initiatives would take time to implement. A new sporting director at a club typically requires at least three transfer windows to show tangible progress, and at the international level often requires multiple cycles, according to the sport.

Crocker's first headline task was to determine whether to retain Gregg Berhalter as head coach of the U.S. men's national team after the team's round of 16 exit in Qatar. Berhalter was reappointed to the position.

Crocker later appointed Mauricio Pochettino as head coach of the men's national team. On the women's side, he appointed Emma Hayes to replace Vlatko Andonovski as head coach, following the U.S. women's national team's round of 16 exit at the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the worst showing in the team's history. Hayes led the team to win the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics.

During the March international window, Crocker and CEO JT Batson led journalists on a tour of the national training center in Fayetteville, Georgia. The tour came as US Soccer continued preparations ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting.