History
On June 8, 2023, the United Soccer League announced that North Sixth Group had been granted a USL League One expansion team in Brooklyn, to start play in the 2025 season, with a women's and youth team to follow. [1] [2] [3]
North Sixth Group specializes in purchasing and developing lower-tier soccer clubs. In addition to Brooklyn FC, it owns fifth-tier Swiss club FC Locarno, Serie C side ASD Campobasso 1919, and a stake in Serie C club Ascoli Calcio. [4] [5] Among the minority owners in North Sixth Group are television personality Kelly Ripa and actor Mark Consuelos. [6] USMNT International Timothy Weah joined the ownership group on May 28, 2024. [7]
The men's team was announced to begin in the third division USL League One in 2025, with an option to move up to the second-division USL Championship by 2028, if certain benchmarks were met. [2] [3] On March 7, 2024, New York City-based soccer outlet Hudson River Blue reported that the team would, in a change of plans, begin directly in the USL Championship for the 2025 season, [8] which was confirmed by USL a week later. [9] In December 2024, that debut was pushed back to the 2026 season. [10]
On 8 December 2025, the club announced the appointment of Marlon LeBlanc, formerly head coach with Philadelphia Union II, as first head coach of its men's team for the inaugural season. [11]
Colors and badge
The club's name and logo, designed by British-based designer Christopher Payne, were unveiled on November 9, 2023. The limestone color is a reference to the Brooklyn Bridge which is represented in the logo, and the brown color reflects the brownstone buildings seen across the borough. [12] [13]
The badge and identity will be used by all Brooklyn FC teams. [14] The club originally announced a kit deal with Kappa, but after the ownership group acquired a stake in manufacturer Diaza, the contract was transferred. [15]
Academy
On December 7, 2023, Brooklyn FC announced that Two Bridges Football Club, a New York City-based youth soccer organization, would become the club's official youth academy and would start playing in the USL Academy League in 2024. Maximilian Mansfield, the executive director of Two Bridges, was named president and CEO of Brooklyn FC. [3] As of October 2024, Mansfield is no longer the CEO nor President of Brooklyn FC.
The academy's U23 team started play in the semi-professional United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) 2024 as Brooklyn FC II. [19]
On June 12, 2024, the club announced that its U20 academy side would play an exhibition match against Ecuadorian Serie A club C.D. Cuenca on July 13. [20]
Stadium
On January 19, 2024, it was reported that Brooklyn FC plan to play their matches at Maimonides Park in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn. [21] That was confirmed by the league on January 31, announcing that the team had signed a multi-year deal. [22]
Maimonides Park is a 7,000-seat stadium on the Coney Island Boardwalk. It had briefly been the home of the second New York Cosmos in 2017, prior to that club going on hiatus. Brooklyn FC intends to use a different field orientation than the Cosmos previously used, leaving the pitcher's mound intact and "maximiz(ing) a lot of the space around the field". [23]
Before the women's opener in 2024, the club cited issues with the soccer turf installation that necessitated moving their first seven home matches to Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium at Columbia University. [24]
Club chairman Matt Rizzetta has indicated that the club has had preliminary conversations with city officials and private developers on a location for a permanent stadium, which had been one of the required benchmarks before the club can move up to the second division. [23] [2]
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