Among Major League Soccer expansion franchises, New York City FC has provided one of the great blueprints.
NYCFC is owned by City Football Group, which also owns Manchester City in the English Premier League. The team currently plays on one of America’s hallowed plots of grass, the field at Yankee Stadium. And the franchise is headed by “Captain America,” U.S. Soccer hero Claudio Reyna. In 2016, NYCFC’s second season, the squad finished second in the Eastern Conference behind Spanish star David Villa.
For a team with its eyes on MLS, there aren’t better examples of building a team. Now, San Antonio FC will have a direct line to New York City.
SAFC and New York City FC entered into a collaborative partnership for the 2017 season, and will work together on and off the field.
On the field there will be some player movement, as NYCFC could potentially loan players to SAFC during the season and will have a close eye on SAFC matches. With much of the SAFC roster in place, head coach Darren Powell stressed that regardless of loans, “every player will earn the right to play.”
Off the field, it’s a chance for SAFC staff to learn from New York City and for NYCFC to learn from Spurs Sports & Entertainment’s offices.
“Four years ago, NYCFC was just getting off the ground,” said SAFC Managing Director Tim Holt. “Now, they’re performing at a high level. We are on a parallel track trying to make our case and bring MLS to San Antonio, and hopefully their track is something we go through in the coming years.”
Many American soccer fans got hooked in the Summer of 2002, when the US Men’s National Team made a run to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Korea. Fans got up at 3 a.m. to watch an underdog team defeat Portugal in the group stage, knock out Mexico by a score of Dos a Cero as Team USA earned respect on the world soccer stage. Claudio Reyna, the national team’s captain during the World Cup, became Sporting Director of NYCFC in 2013 and has helped build the MLS Franchise from the beginning.
Reyna visited San Antonio in December, spending time with Spurs and SAFC staffers and taking plenty of notes back to New York.
“Spurs Sports & Entertainment is a best-in-class professional sports organization that New York City FC can learn a great deal from as we look to grow our club on and off the field within the American sporting landscape,” Reyna said. “We also believe this will be a mutually beneficial relationship which will allow us to share ideas and knowledge on team and coaching development between the two clubs.”
The affiliation announcement comes one week after San Antonio submitted its Major League Soccer expansion application. MLS commissioner Don Garber said the league plans to add four more teams beginning in 2020, giving San Antonio FC some time to continue to learn and continue to state its case.
Reyna called San Antonio an “ambitious, forward-thinking club,” and the respect is mutual. The SAFC staff was in New York last week working with NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira and assistant Javier Perez.
While they are in a partnership now, the hope on both sides is that in a few years’ time, NYCFC and SAFC will be MLS opponents.
“It’s important that our fans, our partners, and San Antonio soccer knows that our partnership is to learn, to strengthen, but in no way does it change the ambition of this club to compete for championships year in year out,” Holt said. “We haven’t taken any sort of different status. We think this affiliation strengthens us and gives us a chance to learn from a great club that’s launched their MLS team exceptionally well.
But it doesn’t take away any of the ambitions we’ve had in the first place.”
Among Major League Soccer expansion franchises, New York City FC has provided one of the great blueprints.
NYCFC is owned by City Football Group, which also owns Manchester City in the English Premier League. The team currently plays on one of America’s hallowed plots of grass, the field at Yankee Stadium. And the franchise is headed by “Captain America,” U.S. Soccer hero Claudio Reyna. In 2016, NYCFC’s second season, the squad finished second in the Eastern Conference behind Spanish star David Villa.
For a team with its eyes on MLS, there aren’t better examples of building a team. Now, San Antonio FC will have a direct line to New York City.
SAFC and New York City FC entered into a collaborative partnership for the 2017 season, and will work together on and off the field.
On the field there will be some player movement, as NYCFC could potentially loan players to SAFC during the season and will have a close eye on SAFC matches. With much of the SAFC roster in place, head coach Darren Powell stressed that regardless of loans, “every player will earn the right to play.”
Off the field, it’s a chance for SAFC staff to learn from New York City and for NYCFC to learn from Spurs Sports & Entertainment’s offices.
“Four years ago, NYCFC was just getting off the ground,” said SAFC Managing Director Tim Holt. “Now, they’re performing at a high level. We are on a parallel track trying to make our case and bring MLS to San Antonio, and hopefully their track is something we go through in the coming years.”
Many American soccer fans got hooked in the Summer of 2002, when the US Men’s National Team made a run to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Korea. Fans got up at 3 a.m. to watch an underdog team defeat Portugal in the group stage, knock out Mexico by a score of Dos a Cero as Team USA earned respect on the world soccer stage. Claudio Reyna, the national team’s captain during the World Cup, became Sporting Director of NYCFC in 2013 and has helped build the MLS Franchise from the beginning.
Reyna visited San Antonio in December, spending time with Spurs and SAFC staffers and taking plenty of notes back to New York.
“Spurs Sports & Entertainment is a best-in-class professional sports organization that New York City FC can learn a great deal from as we look to grow our club on and off the field within the American sporting landscape,” Reyna said. “We also believe this will be a mutually beneficial relationship which will allow us to share ideas and knowledge on team and coaching development between the two clubs.”
The affiliation announcement comes one week after San Antonio submitted its Major League Soccer expansion application. MLS commissioner Don Garber said the league plans to add four more teams beginning in 2020, giving San Antonio FC some time to continue to learn and continue to state its case.
Reyna called San Antonio an “ambitious, forward-thinking club,” and the respect is mutual. The SAFC staff was in New York last week working with NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira and assistant Javier Perez.
While they are in a partnership now, the hope on both sides is that in a few years’ time, NYCFC and SAFC will be MLS opponents.
“It’s important that our fans, our partners, and San Antonio soccer knows that our partnership is to learn, to strengthen, but in no way does it change the ambition of this club to compete for championships year in year out,” Holt said. “We haven’t taken any sort of different status. We think this affiliation strengthens us and gives us a chance to learn from a great club that’s launched their MLS team exceptionally well.
But it doesn’t take away any of the ambitions we’ve had in the first place.”
