Kyle Martino

Kyle Martino is a former MLS and U.S. men's national team soccer player, entrepreneur, mental health advocate and current TV analyst for Turner Sports.

Martino was an All-American player at the University of Virginia, named the 1999 Gatorade National Player Of The Year. An eighth overall pick in the 2002 MLS draft, Martino spent seven seasons playing for both the Columbus Crew and L.A. Galaxy. During his first season, Martino was named the MLS Rookie of the Year.

After his playing career came to an end, Martino transitioned into TV, and worked for NBC Sports, providing studio analysis and color commentary on the English Premier League. He has also appeared on CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel, HDNet and WPVI-TV, Travel Channel's "36 Hours" and NBC's "Spartan Race."

After a run for U.S. Soccer President in 2018, finishing runner up, Martino began his foray into the startup and philanthropic world. He served as Chairman of the National Board of Street Soccer USA, a non-profit organization fighting poverty and empowering underserved communities through soccer.

In 2019, Martino launched the Over Under Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and wellness of kids by increasing access to sport. By converting basketball courts and other blacktops to multi-sport spaces, OUI provides a more equitable play landscape for kids most in need of these proven benefits. Beyond increased access and participation, OUI aims to provide positive health and wellness benefits for the communities the activated spaces serve.

For OUI, Martino developed and patented Goalpher, a game-changing subterranean goal system that transforms an average court into a multi-sport surface in seconds. A dynamic and innovative system, when not in use, stores easily and quickly into the surface under a hoop, Goalpher is now installed at 9 sites across 7 cities through OUI.

Martino is also the co-founder of Street FC, a fast-paced street soccer club played on hard surfaces in cities including New York, Austin, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Minneapolis.

Prior to the 2022 World Cup, Martino opened Football Cafe, a soccer speakeasy in downtown Manhattan. In partnership with Fly Nowhere and Nowhere FC, the space hosted more than 3,000 fans over the course of the month-long tournament. Situated near the legendary Lion’s Gate Field which plays home to many of New York’s long standing teams, it offers fans a full-service bar, food, theatre and merchandise store offering unique football streetwear and fan art.