Mary Virginia Harvey (born June 4, 1965) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. She was the starting goalie for 1991 U.S. Women's National Team which won the inaugural 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup; and a member of the 1996 Olympic Gold Medal team.[2] Harvey retired from international competition in 1996 following the Atlanta Olympics.

Mary Harvey
Harvey at the White House in 2022
Personal information
Full name Mary Virginia Harvey[1]
Date of birth (1965-06-04) June 4, 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1986 California Golden Bears
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1991 FSV Frankfurt
1993 Hammarby IF 2 (0)
1994 Tyresö FF
International career
1989–1996 United States 27 (0)
Medal record
Women's soccer
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

edit

Berkeley

edit

Harvey earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley and her MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management.[3]

Playing career

edit

After graduating, Harvey played semi-professional soccer in Europe. She represented FSV Frankfurt of Germany between 1988 and 1991, as well as Hammarby IF and Tyresö FF of Sweden in 1993 and 1994 respectively.[4]

After making her debut against Poland in 1989, Harvey won 27 caps for the United States women's national soccer team. Her last appearance came in 1996 against Australia.

Sports administration career

edit

Off the field, Harvey served on U.S. Soccer's board of directors for 12 years, including 5 years on the Executive Committee; and on the U.S. Olympic Committee.[3][5] In 2003, Harvey was hired by FIFA to become its Director of Development, becoming the first woman and first American hired by the international governing body to run a division.[3] In this role, Harvey was responsible for managing the US$160 million per year development budget for FIFA, including such programs as the Financial Assistance Program, the Goal Programme, and FIFA's education or course programs. She was also responsible for FIFA's activities to develop women's soccer, futsal and beach soccer, and to oversee FIFA's sports medicine activities. Mary was involved in the reform process at FIFA and launched the #WomeninFIFA campaign with Australian Moya Dodd. The campaign was successful in achieving gender inclusion as a core tenet of the reforms passed in 2016. Prior to joining FIFA, Harvey was the CEO of a US$15 million sports and fitness company, and worked in the management consulting industry for both Deloitte. and Accenture.[6][7]

In 2008, Harvey left FIFA to return to her native United States to become the chief operating officer for Women's Professional Soccer, the new women's professional soccer league in the United States.[8] Harvey left WPS in 2010 after two seasons.

In 2017, Harvey joined the bid team to bring the 2026 FIFA World Cup to North America. Harvey was responsible for writing the United 2026 Human Rights Strategy, the first of its kind for a mega-sporting-event. The 2026 FIFA World Cup was awarded to Canada, Mexico and the United States at the 2018 FIFA Congress in Moscow.

Mary has served as a sport envoy for the U.S. State Department’s Sports Diplomacy Division on several occasions, including missions to Iraq, Jordan, Canada and Mexico. Mary also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Green Sports Alliance, an organization dedicated to leveraging the cultural and market influence of sports to inspire sports leagues, teams, venues, their partners and millions of fans to embrace renewable energy, healthy food, recycling, water efficiency, species preservation, safer chemicals and other environmentally preferable practices.

She is currently the chief executive of the Center for Sport and Human Rights – a human rights organization for the world of sport.[9]

Honors and awards

edit

Harvey's honors include:[3]

  • US Soccer Werner Fricker Award (2016);
  • Hall of Fame, United States Olympic Committee (1996 Olympic Team);
  • Medal of Honor, U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame (1991 Women's World Cup Team);
  • National Goalkeeper of the year (1986);[10]
  • Hall of Fame, Cal Athletics (2000);[10]
  • Hall of Fame, American Youth Soccer Organization (2003)[11]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b U.S. Soccer 1995 Media Guide. Chicago: United States Soccer Federation. 1995. p. 26.
  2. ^ "Mary Harvey". California Golden Bears. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Mary Harvey, SportsAccord, 2007.
  4. ^ "Mary Harvey". Soccer America. January 1, 1995. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  5. ^ "Mary Harvey", AYSO.
  6. ^ "Mary Harvey, Director of Development, FIFA". SportsAccord.com. April 30, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  7. ^ "Veteran Bios". SoccerHall.org. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  8. ^ "Mary Harvey named COO of new women's league". Soccer America. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  9. ^ Harris, Rob (December 11, 2018). "Mary Harvey goes from soccer champ to human rights leader". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "University of California Hall of Fame". CalBears.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  11. ^ "Mary Harvey: AYSO Hall of Famer - Class of 2003". AYSO. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
edit