New Amsterdam Football Club is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead and Oys ...

. The club competes in the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

, the third tier of American soccer. New Amsterdam FC was established on April 20, 2020, and began play in July 2020. The club was founded by both Laurence Girard and Maximilian Mansfield, with Mansfield serving as sporting director.

History

In November 2019 it was revealed by some journalists that a possible New York-based group had applied for a team in the

, a new third division

league. It was then further reported in January 2020 that the investor involved in the New York group was rumored to be Laurence Girard, the CEO of Fruit Street. The name "New Amsterdam FC" was also rumored to be in consideration. A few months later, on April 20, it was officially announced that New Amsterdam FC would be the name for the New York based NISA side. The name is in reference to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

, the 17th-century Dutch settlement that eventually formed

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. At the time of the reveal, it was not announced when New Amsterdam FC would begin playing. In May 2020, it was stated by New Amsterdam sporting director Maximilian Mansfield that the team would opt for a local approach, similar to Spanish club

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

, where 50 to 60 percent of the team will be local New Yorkers. On July 1, 2020 it was announced that New Amsterdam FC would be participating in the

NISA Independent Cup The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

, a tournament created by the league in the wake of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. A couple days later, on July 3, New Amsterdam FC announced their first signing, midfielder Martin Williams from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. On July 28, the team announced it would play its inaugural match against the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

in the Independent Cup and the Fall 2020 season at the Hudson Sports Complex in

Warwick, New York Warwick is a town in the southwestern part of Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 32,027 at the 2020 census. The town contains three villages (Florida, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick) and eight hamlets ( Amity, Bellvale, Ed ...

. It was later clarified that the venue choice was due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...

and the team plans to move games back into the city proper once fans are able to attend. Former

US international QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden type ...

and

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

player

Eric Wynalda Eric Boswell Wynalda (born June 9, 1969) is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and retired player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach ...

was announced as the first coach in team history on July 30. 18 days later, Wynalda stepped down for personal reasons. The club won their first match in club history on June 16, 2021 over 1904 FC, snapping an eighteen match winless streak across all official competitions.

Club culture

Associated teams

The team also established reserve sides in both local and national amateur leagues. New Amsterdam FC II-SASC, formerly known as Sporting Astoria SC, plays in the

NISA Nation NISA Nation is a semi-professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is below the professional leagues in the United States soccer league system and began play in 2021. NISA Nation is affiliated with the third tier profession ...

Eastern Premier Soccer League The Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association and a National Independent Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from the Eastern United States. Currently the league has member ...

and

Cosmopolitan Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

system. Bronx River Futbol Club, which began play in the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was found ...

in 2020 as a partnership between Sporting Astoria and NAFC, will change its name to New Amsterdam FC III beginning in the Spring 2021 season.

Players and staff

Players

Coaching staff

Statistics and records

Season-by-season

References

External links

New Amsterdam FC Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Amsterdam FC National Independent Soccer Association teams Soccer clubs in the New York metropolitan area Association football clubs established in 2020 2020 establishments in New York (state)