Queens scores a professional men’s soccer franchise
BY BILL PARRY
Queens will soon have its
own professional men’s soccer
team.
The United Soccer League
announced Tuesday that it
awarded a franchise to the
Queensboro Football Club
starting in 2021, when the team
will play in the USL Championship,
the top tier of the league
which is one level below Major
League Soccer.
“The deep, diverse fanbase
here in Queens has long desired
a professional soccer team to
call our own,” Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz said.
“The creation of the QBFC is a
major milestone that benefits
this borough of 2.4 million residents.
As we first envisioned
several years ago on elevating
professional soccer here in
Queens, the QBFC will further
cement the borough’s reputation
and standing as a global
destination. Our families and
communities are thrilled, for
The World’s Game now has a
home in The World’s Borough.”
One of the international soccer’s
biggest stars, David Villa,
is the lead investor in Queensboro
FC, which will play most
of its home games at York College
in Jamaica, as well as a
few games at Citi Field. Villa is
a World Cup champion and alltime
leading Spanish national
team goal scorer who starred
with Barcelona and Real Madrid
at club level before joining
the New York City Football Club
that plays at Yankee Stadium.
“I lived and played in New
York for four years. I know
what a special place Queens is,”
Villa said. “I love the cultures,
the food, the people and their
passion for life and, of course,
soccer. There is no other place
like it in the world. It’s a dream
to help build this football club in
Queens, and I couldn’t choose a
better location.”
The club plans to operate a
youth academy which Villa will
work closely with. Villa is close
friends with City Councilman
Francisco Moya who has advocated
for a professional soccer
team in the borough for years.
“As a passionate soccer fan
who has also played my entire
life, I know how the game
gives back,” Moya said. “Soccer
teaches so many great lifelong
lessons, the value of teamwork,
International soccer star David Villa will be a lead investor in
Queensboro FC, a professional men’s squad that begins play in
2021. Photo via Wikipedia Commons
hard work and perseverance, to
name a few. These are qualities
that embody the Queens community
and having a team of
our own is very exciting.”
QBFC will look to build its
foundation with local talent
and partner with local businesses
and officials to promote
the diverse culture and identity
of the borough. QBFC’s ownership
group is led by asset manager
Jonathan Krane, founder
and CEO of KraneShares.
“We are excited to bring
a USL Championship club to
Queens,” Krane said. “Queens
has a large, passionate and
knowledgeable community of
soccer supporters and players
from all over the world and
deserves a club to call its own.
We look forward to working
closely with the community to
establish Queensboro FC as not
just a leading organization in
professional soccer but also as
a proud ambassador of Queens.
Together we will accomplish
great things on and off the
pitch.”
United Soccer League CEO
Alec Papadakis is thrilled to
bring a professional soccer
franchise to Queens.
“Soccer is second nature to
many who call this borough
home, and with a strong sense
of community in the most culturally
diverse area in the
world, a USL Championship
club in Queens is the perfect
fit,” Papadakis said.
For Moya, landing Queensboro
FC truly is a dream come
true.
“I can’t remember a time
when I wasn’t dreaming about
a pro football team coming to
Queens. Clearly I’m not the only
one,” Moya said. “Every patch
of grass across this borough has
someone dribbling a ball across
it or wishing they were. This
is what unites us — there are
over 100 languages spoken here
but we all speak soccer. It’s the
world’s game and it’s about time
it came to the world’s borough.”
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