The increasingly crowded race to lead U.S. Soccer — the field of candidates already includes two World Cup veterans, a member of the federation board and a well-connected lawyer or two — is getting perhaps its biggest name yet.

Kyle Martino, a former United States national team midfielder now more familiar to fans for his role on NBC Sports’ Premier League broadcasts, has decided to leave his “dream job” and mount a bid to replace the longtime incumbent Sunil Gulati as president of U.S. Soccer.

Martino’s decision is a very public about-face. Three weeks ago, he told Bleacher Report that he had considered running for the job but decided against it because the presidency is a volunteer position with no salary. But Martino rethought his decision and now will take a hiatus from his post at NBC effective immediately.

Martino said he changed his mind because he was adamant that the time had come for a true “soccer guy” to run a federation that is thriving economically but is struggling to keep up with rivals on the field and is deeply divided about the leadership of Gulati in the wake of the men’s national team’s elimination from qualifying for the 2018 World Cup last month.