U.S. SOCCER IS FINALLY going to to talk on the record about the FIFA corruption scandal—albeit grudgingly. 

Ever since the United States Justice Department unsealed 13 indictments in May, the people at the top of American soccer's governing body in this country have been eerily quiet.

Other than a few brief prepared statements, United States Soccer Federation president and FIFA executive committee member Sunil Gulati has said little about the indictments or any ties he, or U.S. Soccer, may have to the conspirators—including Chuck Blazer, a longtime friend and colleague of Gulati. 

That will change today, though it won’t be Gulati doing the talking. 

USSF general secretary Dan Flynn, the executive who runs the day-to-day affairs at the federation’s Chicago headquarters, is among four witnesses summoned by a Senate subcommittee to testify Wednesday afternoon on the FIFA scandal. The hearing, before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security, is titled "Examining the Governance and Integrity of International Soccer."

Several Senate sources involved in the hearing told American Soccer Now that the subcommittee, part of the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, originally requested that Gulati himself appear tomorrow. But Gulati and U.S. Soccer pushed back. Originally, sources said, the USSF didn’t want any of their officials to testify, but later agreed to have Flynn speak in Washington D.C..

ASN made multiple attempts to get the USSF to comment for this story but phone calls and emails were not returned. 

It should be noted that that this subcommittee testimony is voluntary. None of the witnesses have been subpoenaed and the hearing is only fact-finding in nature. No one at USSF has been accused of anything criminal and no one will be risking perjury, Senate sources said, as those testifying will not be sworn-in. 

Tomorrow’s testimony will, however, become part of the official Congressional record on the subject.

At the same time, it’s not a good sign that the head of the soccer’s governing body in the U.S. has chosen to duck a Senate hearing on corruption in the sport, particularly when he has already said so little on the scandal. When FIFA president Sepp Blatter resigned in June, the USSF originally planned to have Gulati answer media questions about it on a conference call. But that plan was quickly scrapped and Gulati instead issued a generic statement through a USSF press release.

According to a subcommittee press release, “The hearing will examine the integrity and impending leadership changes at FIFA, the role of the United States in international soccer, and concerns about the labor conditions of workers in Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup. The Consumer Protection Subcommittee exercises jurisdiction over sports within the Senate Commerce Committee.”

The subcommittee is chaired by Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), who, sources said, has a particular interest in soccer because his state’s only major league team, Sporting Kansas City, is a soccer club.

“Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world, and it is attracting a wider audience by the day in the United States,” Moran said in a release. "Children across America and the globe look up to athletes as role models, and professional sports must be held to the highest standards. The recent revelations of bribery and mismanagement at FIFA should be of concern to us all. The organization’s culture of corruption is turning a blind eye to significant human rights violations and the tragic loss of lives. This hearing on the recent FIFA scandals will begin the discussion about our country’s own participation in the organization, ways the United States and our allies can work to reform FIFA, and how we can restore integrity to the game so many Americans and citizens of the world enjoy.”

The ranking minority member on the subcommittee is Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), who last month was critical of how Gulati handled the USSF’s discipline of U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper, Hope Solo, after she was arrested for domestic assault of her nephew. Gulati challenged Blumenthal’s objections, which were based on an ESPN report, and in doing so appears to have gotten in Blumenthal’s crosshairs.

“We need to understand how this corruption occurred," Blumenthal told the New York Times. "U.S. Soccer either knew or should have known. It’s that simple, and I don’t know which is worse.” 

A pair of Senate sources said Blumenthal was unhappy that Gulati declined to attend tomorrow’s hearing.

“He isn’t pleased about it,” a source told ASN.

Also expected to testify are British journalist Andrew Jennings, who has been a crusader in exposing FIFA corruption; Michael Hershman, president of the Fairfax Group, a consulting firm specializing in helping governments in the developing world deal with corruption issues; and Sunjeev Berry, an official at Amnesty International who specializes in the Middle East and North Africa.

Members of the subcommittee include presidential candidate Ted Cruz (R-Texas), though he has spent most of his time of late on the campaign trail and isn’t expected to attend; former Stanford football player Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), and Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), who is a legacy of a political family with a history of using political influence in the sports world. 

Flynn, 60, has been at his current position with the USSF since 2000. He was a standout player at collegiate power Saint Louis, where he helped the Billikens to a national title and a pair of Final Four appearances. He previously spent four years as U.S. Soccer's chief administrative and chief operating officer between 1994 and 1998.

According to published reports, Flynn’s annual salary is in excess of $600,000 making him the federation’s second-highest paid employee behind only U.S. men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann. 

(Gulati’s position as USSF president is technically a volunteer one as he is unpaid by the federation. However, members of FIFA’s executive committee receive $200,000 stipends each year and Gulati is also a professor at Columbia and a consultant for the Kraft family, which owns MLS’ New England Revolution.)

During his two tours at U.S. Soccer Flynn worked closely with CONCACAF, which was run by Blazer, its former general secretary, and former president and FIFA executive committee member Jack Warner of Trinidad. Flynn also interfaced with Traffic Sports as myriad CONCACAF events were hosted in the U.S. and promoted by Traffic. 

Besides Blazer, Warner and several Traffic executives were among those indicted by the Justice Department in May.

Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.