Man City Join Forces With New York Yankees To Create ‘New York City Football Club’ – Brand New MLS Franchise

By Chris Wright

Blue Jays Yankees Baseball

“Oi mate, want to start a football club?”

Manchester City are joining forces with the New York Yankees to create a new MLS side, New York City Football Club, which they are hoping to have competing in the MLS by 2015 as the league’s 20th franchise.

(Whatever happened to Eric Cantona’s rejigged New York Cosmos? Did they bottle it in the end?)

Anyway, City will be the majority owner of the new club, while MLB giants the Yankees will be active investors in the project as part of the NYCFC ownership group.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced today:

“We proudly welcome two of the most prestigious professional global sports organisations to Major League Soccer.

“This is a transformational development that will elevate the league to new heights in this country. The New York area is home to more than 19 million people, and we look forward to an intense crosstown rivalry between New York City Football Club and the New York Red Bulls that will captivate this great city.”

Apparently NYCFC will begin the 2015 season at a temporary home. but fully intend to become the first soccer team to build themselves a permanent home within New York’s “five boroughs” (possibly at Flushing Meadows in Queens) as NY Red Bulls currently play just  outside the line in the city’s metropolitan area.

It’s perhaps notable that the City execs pushing for the MLS franchise are exactly the same bods that tried the exact same thing with Barcelona before jumping ship, i.e, Ferran Soriano et al, who are now keen on taking inflatable bananas and openly pirated goal celebrations to a new frontier.

This is the way professional sport is going peeps. Huge worldwide brand amalgamations are the future, like it or lump it.

Posted in Man City, MLS, Newsnow

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11 Comments

  1. MrMac says:

    USA is gonna kill soccer – isn’t it.

  2. Zam says:

    My goodness. I can’t think of anything that could make this worse.

  3. Eddy says:

    The Cosmos ended up in the NASL (2nd division).

    Personally, I’m glad they did. I’d rather support a team 20 minutes down the road than something City/Yankees are involved in.

    It is disappointing on some level, but ultimately, I’m glad the Cosmos were brought back down to earth a bit.

  4. Ha! says:

    Whatever it takes to get rid of the word ‘soccer’ I will support.

  5. Asifmang says:

    Our writers have come up with a great new twist. A second New York team gives our story line so much more depth and emotion.

    You’ve heard of the Merseyside Derby… Try the New York Exsoccerganza!!

  6. SZY says:

    “Oi mate, want to start a football club?” made my day

  7. nat says:

    well at least they didn’t name it after a fucking energy drink.

  8. __wowza says:

    there was never any official word why the cosmos franchise wasn’t brought up to the MLS. like a few other MLS clubs, they have a seasoned history in north american soccer (or football, whatthefuckever) so you’d think it would be the next logical step.

    begin wild speculation.

  9. […] City are the latest to parade their wares for next season, traveling Stateside (where they now have major business concerns) to unveil their smart new Nike home strip for 2013/14 ahead of a post-season friendly against […]

  10. Andrew says:

    Oh look. 2 of my least favorite entities in the sporting world are having a baby. Eugh.

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