New York City FC

Not to be confused with York City F.C. or F.C. New York.
New York City FC
Full name New York City Football Club
Founded May 21, 2013
Stadium Yankee Stadium
Capacity 27,528 / 33,444[1] (49,642 maximum)
Owner City Football Group (80%)
Yankee Global Enterprises (20%)[2]
CEO Ferran Soriano
Head Coach Jason Kreis
League Major League Soccer
Website Club home page

New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS). It was announced as the league's twentieth franchise on May 21, 2013.[3] Manchester City and the New York Yankees baseball team paid a $100 million expansion fee to join the league.[4][5] The club began playing in the 2015 MLS season,[6] alongside Orlando City SC. The club is the first MLS franchise located in the city, and the second franchise in the New York metropolitan area after the New York Red Bulls, based in Harrison, New Jersey.[7]

History

MLS commissioner Don Garber announced the league's intent to award a second team in the New York area in 2010, with the new team originally aimed to begin operations by 2013.[8] Initially, the league held talks with New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon about a second NY club and with owners of the rebooted New York Cosmos.[9] The Wilpons' interest in MLS reportedly faded following the family's losses in the Madoff investment scandal,[10] while the Cosmos began playing in the second-tier North American Soccer League in 2013.[11]

Garber had previously cultivated an interest in acquiring investment from a major European soccer team to be owners of a future franchise, and in December 2008, he announced a bid for a Miami expansion team led by FC Barcelona that was to begin play in 2010,[12] though the bid eventually fell through[13] (Garber also briefly discussed Barcelona investing in a New York franchise before moving the focus to Miami[14]).

But when Ferran Soriano, Barcelona's vice president at the time of the Miami bid, was appointed Manchester City CEO in August 2012, Garber reached out to him about a New York City team.[14] In December 2012, unnamed sources told the media that Manchester City were close to being announced as the new owners of the 20th team of MLS, and the brand name "New York City Football Club" was trademarked, although the club quickly denied the report.[15] However, Garber announced in March 2013 that he was almost ready to unveil the new expansion team,[16]

New York City Football Club, LLC was registered with the New York State Department on May 7, 2013,[17] and on May 21 the team was officially announced as the 20th Major League Soccer franchise.[18]

On May 22, 2013, the club named former United States and Manchester City midfielder Claudio Reyna as its director of football operations, responsible for coaching staff and player recruitment ahead of the team's inaugural MLS season in 2015.[19] Reyna, a New Jersey native, also played for the nearby New York Red Bulls. He said he had begun identifying candidates to be the club's head coach, but would not name one in 2013.[20] The team announced an English-language radio deal with WFAN on October 3, 2013.[21]

The club made their first recruitment dealing in off-field matters on September 6, 2013, when they hired former Rutgers University Athletic Director Tim Pernetti to serve as Chief Business Officer, part of a five-year deal with the university.[22] Further hirings were made in mid-November, when three experienced administrators were appointed to Vice President roles.[23]

On December 11, 2013, Jason Kreis was announced as the first head coach of the new franchise, having reached the end of his contract at Real Salt Lake and declined an extension.[24] The move came just four days after he missed out on lifting his second MLS Cup with the Utah team, losing on penalties to Sporting Kansas City. It was revealed in the announcement that his contract, starting on January 1, 2014, would see him begin by travelling to Manchester in England to familiarise himself with the set-up of franchise-owners Manchester City.[24]

Kreis' official unveiling was made at a press conference on January 10, 2014, where Kreis himself made it public that his former assistant Miles Joseph had joined him at the club, becoming New York City FC's first ever assistant coach.[25]

On June 2, 2014 the club announced that Spanish World Cup-winning striker David Villa had signed as the first player.[26][27] While the team awaited its MLS start in 2015, Villa was loaned to another team owned by Manchester City, Melbourne City FC of the Australian A-League but was called back after only four matches.[28] On July 24, 2014, New York City FC announced at a live press conference in Brooklyn that ex-England international and Chelsea all-time top goal scorer Frank Lampard would be joining them as their second Designated Player. Sporting director Claudio Reyna hailed Lampard as "one of the greatest players in world history." Lampard said that "It is a privilege to be able to help make history here in New York City."[29][30]

Inaugural season

An up-and-down pre-season saw them dominate their first ever exhibition match, played against St. Mirren, with David Villa scoring the club's first ever goal in a regulated match,[31] while in the Carolina Challenge Cup, they finished second out of four teams after a slow start ruled out their chances of picking up the non-competitive silverware. Their first ever league game was played on March 8 against fellow expansion side Orlando City, with Mix Diskerud scoring their first ever competitive goal in a game which finished 1–1 in front of a packed Citrus Bowl stadium.[32] A week later in their first home game, Villa and Patrick Mullins scored for a first win.[33]

Colors and badge

The badge used at the launch of the club

With the team announced in 2013, almost two years before it was due to play its first competitive game in 2015, the board of the nascent New York club announced their intention to take their time in building the club, and at the team's launch ceremony did not unveil colors or a badge, instead only using a placeholder image of a blue circle with "New York City FC" written within. As interested parties waited for the club to reveal its official colors and badge, a number of graphic designers released their own impressions of possible crests and shirt designs,[34] something the club encouraged by publicizing several attempts on their various social media outlets.

Although club chairman Ferran Soriano emphasised the desire to create a club with its own identity, rather than relying entirely on the brands of club owners Manchester City and the New York Yankees, the online presence that the club kept up across its own website and on various social networking websites maintained a consistent approach of using the sky blue of the Manchester club and the navy blue of the MLB team, along with the white employed by both owner-clubs. With the soccer side running the operations of NYCFC, however, the vast majority of journalistic reporting and speculation assumed that the club's color-scheme would eventually be revealed as a reflection of, if not a copy of Manchester City's sky blue kits with white trim.[35][36][37][38] with Director of Football Operations Claudio Reyna saying at the press conference announcing his appointment that he was "...incredibly excited to again wear City’s ‘Sky Blue’ as part of the expansion of the MLS...".[19]

Having allowed the speculation and amateur designs to build interest in the club for almost nine months, on February 4, 2014 it was announced that the selection of an official club badge was to be forthcoming, with the club planning to release two designs for the crest in two different styles, which would then be put to a public vote to select the chosen design.[39] In the meantime, New York City FC's official website announced a "Badge of Badges" campaign, inviting all to create their own crests on a hosted badge-designer page, with every entry ultimately to be incorporated into a mosaic of the badge when a final design was selected, the mosaic to be available both online and in physical form at the club's training ground once built.[40]

Although March 3 was originally set as the release date for the two proposed logos, the vote was pushed back as the Yankees vetoed one of the potential crests for infringing their own trademark.[41] The two badge options, both designed by Rafael Esquer following the success of his Made in NY mark, were revealed on March 10. At that time, the club's official color scheme of navy blue, sky blue and orange was also announced. The orange was an homage to the city's Dutch heritage, and is the same shade found in the city's flag.[42] Fans were given three days to vote on the final design, and the winner was announced on March 20.[43]

Following closely on the tails of Orlando City SC's jersey announcement, New York City FC held their inaugural jersey announcement on November 13, 2014,[44] revealing a sky blue shirt taking its inspiration from sister club Manchester City. The away jersey was revealed on November 24, a black shirt with sky blue and orange trim and five reflective black stripes to represent the five boroughs of the city.[45]

Sponsorship

Season Manufacturer Sponsor Ref.
2015– Adidas Etihad [46]

City Football Group sponsor Etihad was announced to be NYCFC's inaugural jersey sponsor[46] in an event at Terminal 5 in New York City on November 13, 2014, at the same event which revealed the club's first ever jersey design. The announcement capped a week in which Heineken[47] and Adidas[48] had been signed up as secondary sponsors of the club.

Broadcasting

In one of the club's first announcements on October 3, 2013 - before announcing where the team would play and before any players had been signed - New York City FC signed an agreement with WFAN to broadcast English-language radio commentary to the New York area for NYCFC games.[21] A year later, on December 18, 2014, the club announced that it was following up its radio deal with an agreement with a deal with YES Network to televise all home and away games.[49] On top of the YES broadcast rights, the deal included free streaming of all games across the internet via the Fox Sports Go website.[49] With club co-owners the New York Yankees also part-owners of YES, the deals were of little surprise, with even Randy Levine openly speculating on the possibility within days of the club's unveiling.[50]

Stadium

The team is currently playing their first season at Yankee Stadium

Before the official team was announced, plans were presented by MLS to build a soccer stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park[51] in Queens. However, due to opposition to building a stadium on park land as well as objections from the New York Mets, who play nearby, the site lost favor once the new team was announced. The team came up with an alternate proposal to build the stadium in the Bronx adjacent to Yankee Stadium to be completed in 2018 at the earliest.[52] On April 21, 2014, the club confirmed that they would play their first season home games at Yankee Stadium, and that plans for a future stadium were in progress.[53]

Culture

Supporters

New York City FC's official supporter group, The Third Rail, began to form after the club's announcement in May 2013, when fans met through social media, and through member drives and viewing parties for 2014 FIFA World Cup matches. It had registered 1,000 members by September 20, 2014.[54] Although the group operates independently from the club, it was recognized as the official supporter group and has received exclusive access to two sections in Yankee Stadium. Group president Chance Michaels said the name reflected the group's desire to "power NYCFC" the way the third rail powered the New York City subway system.[55]

Before the club began play in March 2015, the club's season-ticket membership had already surpassed 14,000,[56] and by April 2015 season-ticket sales had reached 16,000.[57]


Players and staff

Current roster

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of January 13, 2015.[58]

No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald      United States
2 Defender Andrés Mendoza      Ecuador
3 Defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe      United States
4 Midfielder Andrew Jacobson      United States
5 Defender Jeb Brovsky      United States
6 Defender George John      United States
7 Forward David Villa (DP)     Spain
10 Midfielder Mix Diskerud      United States
11 Midfielder Ned Grabavoy      United States
12 Goalkeeper Josh Saunders      Puerto Rico
13 Defender Josh Williams      United States
14 Forward Patrick Mullins      United States
15 Midfielder Tommy McNamara      United States
16 Defender Connor Brandt      United States
17 Defender Chris Wingert      United States
18 Goalkeeper Ryan Meara (on loan from New York Red Bulls)     United States
19 Forward Khiry Shelton      United States
20 Midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy      Morocco
21 Defender Jason Hernandez      United States
22 Midfielder Pablo Álvarez      Spain
23 Midfielder Matt Dunn      United States
24 Defender Shay Facey (on loan from Manchester City)     England
25 Goalkeeper Eirik Johansen      Norway
26 Midfielder Sebastián Velásquez      Colombia
30 Midfielder Javier Calle (on loan from Independiente Medellín)     Colombia
32 Forward Adam Nemec      Slovakia
88 Midfielder Kwadwo Poku      Ghana
99 Forward Tony Taylor      United States

Not officially a loan, Frank Lampard joined Manchester City on a short-term contract signed as a free agent. His NYCFC contract will not begin until the end of his stay in Manchester.[59]

Team management

Executive
Club president Tom Glick
Chief business officer Tim Pernetti
Senior vice president for partnerships Doug Fillis
Vice president for finance Josh Neier
Vice president for ticket sales and fan services Mike Quarino
Director of football operations Claudio Reyna
Head of player recruitment David Lee
Coaching staff
Head coach Jason Kreis
Assistant coach Miles Joseph
Coach C. J. Brown
Goalkeeping coach Rob Vartughian
Head trainer Kevin Christen
Physical training coach Oscar Pitillas Torra
Physical performance coach Aiden Byrne
Assistant athletic trainer Pascual Guerrero
Youth technical coordinator Rodrigo Marion

Last updated: February 4, 2015
Source: [19][22][23][25]

Team records

As of March 15, 2015
Year MLS Regular season Position MLS Cup
Playoffs		 Open Cup Champions
League		 Top Scorer
P W L D GF GA Pts Conf. Overall Player Goals
2015 3 1 0 2 3 1 4 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD

Head coaches

As of March, 2015
All Time New York City FC Coaching Stats
Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Loss Draw Win %
Jason Kreis  United States December 11, 2013 Present 3 1 0 2 33.33

References

  1. ↑ http://www.empireofsoccer.com/forces-seating-opener-32446/
  2. ↑ Stock, Kyle. "Comcast, the Mets, and Other Winners in the New Man City-Yankees MLS Franchise". Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Major League Soccer announces New York expansion team: New York City Football Club". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  4. ↑ Ozanian, Mike (July 5, 2013). "The Economics Behind New York's $100 Million MLS Team". Forbes. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Belson, Ken; Charles V. Bagli (May 21, 2013). "A Team Is Born, but Not All Cheer". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Club Statement 21 May" (Press release). Manchester City FC. May 21, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Yanks, Manchester City awarded MLS expansion team". MLB.com. May 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ "MLS commissioner eyes possible New York franchise for 2013". mlssoccer.com. May 7, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  9. ↑ "MLS focused on making NY club its 20th team". mlssoccer.com. November 16, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  10. ↑ Bell, Jack (August 1, 2010). "Cosmos Begin Anew, With Eye Toward M.L.S.". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  11. ↑ O'Brien, Seamus (July 12, 2012). "New York Cosmos Returns to NASL". nycosmos.com. New York City: New York Cosmos. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  12. ↑ Lalas, Greg (February 11, 2009). "Garber: Barca/Miami Team Would Start in 2010". Goal.com.
  13. ↑ "Miami Barcelona MLS Campaign Is Dead". Goal.com. March 3, 2009.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Bennett, Roger (May 28, 2013). "Ambitious Garber ready for next challenge". Relegation Zone (ESPN FC).
  15. ↑ "Manchester City Said Close to Being Awarded MLS Queens Team". Bloomberg. December 15, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  16. ↑ "MLS Commissioner Don Garber talks NYC2 progress, Florida expansion, Champions League schedule tweak". mlssoccer.com. March 17, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Entity Information". NYS Division of Corporations, State Records and UCC. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Major League Soccer announces New York expansion team: New York City Football Club". mlssoccer.com. May 21, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "New York City FC name Claudio Reyna director of football operations". mlssoccer.com. May 22, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  20. ↑ Borg, Simon (May 22, 2013). "New York City FC's Claudio Reyna says head coach won't be named in 2013". mlssoccer.com.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Broadcast Deal with WFAN". nycfc.com. October 3, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Tim Pernetti appointed as CBO". nycfc.com. September 9, 2013.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "New York City Football Club Unveils Front Office Hires". nycfc.com. November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Jason Kreis named as Head Coach". nycfc.com. December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Jason Kreis Head Coach Press Conference". nycfc.com. January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  26. ↑ "David Villa signs for New York City FC - New York City FC". Nycfc.com. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  27. ↑ "David Villa becomes New York FC's 'first ever player' after signing three-year deal". Daily Mail. June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Villa to leave Melbourne City after four games". The Independent. October 22, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  29. ↑ July 24, 2014 4:40PM EDTJanine Padilla (July 24, 2014). "Welcome to New York City: Frank Lampard | New York City FC". Nycfc.com. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  30. ↑ Peck, Brooks (July 24, 2014). "Frank Lampard unveiled as NYCFC's fourth player on two-year deal | Dirty Tackle - Yahoo Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  31. ↑ "New York City FC play first ever professional match against SPL side St Mirren". Daily Mirror. February 10, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  32. ↑ "GOAL: Mix Diskerud scores first ever MLS goal in New York City FC history". mlssoccer.com. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  33. ↑ Gorst, Paul (March 15, 2015). "Result: New York City FC claim historic first win". Sports Mole. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Could this be New York City's kit? Design firm knock up slick strip (and merchandise) for new MLS franchise in unofficial portfolio". Daily Mail. June 21, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Facelift needed for Melbourne Heart to start again". theroar.au. January 24, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  36. ↑ "New York Gets Second MLS Franchise: NYCFC". nextimpulsesports.com. May 21, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  37. ↑ "EX-US CAPTAIN REYNA TO DIRECT NYC SOCCER TEAM". Associated Press. May 22, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  38. ↑ "NYCFC announcement leaves more questions than answers — and that’s good for MLS". the11.ca. May 22, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  39. ↑ "New York City F.C. to debut crest through the fans". Empire of Soccer. February 4, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Badge of badges". nycfc.com. February 4, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Yankees Trademark Concerns Delay NYCFC Logo Launch". Empire of Soccer. March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Speaking to Rafael Esquer, Creator of the NYCFC badges". empireofsoccer.com. March 12, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  43. ↑ "Vote Now: It's up to you, New York". nycfc.com. March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  44. ↑ "New York City FC Unveils First Home Jersey". nycfc.com. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  45. ↑ "#NYCFCRevealed: The Complete Look". nycfc.com. November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 "New York City Football Club Takes Flight with Etihad Airways Partnership". nycfc.com. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  47. ↑ "New York City FC Joins Heineken Roster". nycfc.com. November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  48. ↑ "New York City FC Adds adidas as Official Partner". nycfc.com. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 "NYCFC and YES Announce Multi-Year Agreement". nycfc.com. December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  50. ↑ "New York City FC matches televised on YES Network? Yankees ownership stake will bring synergies". mlssoccer.com. May 21, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  51. ↑ David Picker (December 5, 2012). "M.L.S. Promotes Stadium at a Town Hall Meeting". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  52. ↑ Dave Martinez (February 1, 2014). "Favorable returns for NYCFC after stadium Town Hall". empireofsoccer.com. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  53. ↑ "New York City FC Major Announcement". YouTube. April 12, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  54. ↑ "1000!". www.ThirdRailNYC.com. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  55. ↑ Wallerson, Ryan (September 4, 2014). "700 Soccer Fans and Counting: Fan Club Third Rail Builds Ranks". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  56. ↑ "New York City FC surpass 14,000 season tickets for inaugural season", NYCFC.com, February 26, 2015.
  57. ↑ "NYCFC hits 16,000 mark in season-ticket sales", Soccer America, Ridge Mahoney, April 8 2015.
  58. ↑ "Roster - New York City Football Club". nycfc.com. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  59. ↑ "BBC Sport - Manchester City: Frank Lampard's deal from New York extended". BBC Sport.

External links