NEW YORK // One of the most challenging endeavours a newly formed professional football club must undertake is establishing and building a fan base, then keeping the fan base happy.
Like any new relationship, the one between New York City FC, the new Major League Soccer franchise and part of the City Football Group family, and its fans has been marked by a few lovers’ tiffs, but nothing that cannot be repaired, says Tom Glick, the club’s president.
“It’s a very good sign, to have this level of passion at this point in our development,” Glick said in the New York Times.
The NYCFC faithful have voiced their discontent, from the design of the club's kit and its crest to the decision for the Premier League champions Manchester City, the big brother in the CFG family, to retain Frank Lampard until the end of their domestic season.
Fans had expected to see the former Chelsea and England midfielder lining up in the blue of New York City rather than Manchester for their first MLS fixture on Sunday against Orlando City, another start-up franchise.
Glick said, though, that the response from the NYCFC fans has been "very positive" and that the club were delighted by how much New Yorkers have got behind the team. Much of that gratitude should be reserved for the social media team and independent supporter groups, such as the Third Rail, for keeping fans engaged.
The club has already sold 14,000 of their 27,528 allocation for their home games at Yankee Stadium, the fortress of Major League Baseball’s most successful team.
“We are delighted to see so many New Yorkers getting behind our club. The momentum is growing every week and we have sold over 1,000 season tickets in the last three weeks alone,” Glick said.
“New York City FC’s 14,000 Founding Members are the foundation of our club. They’re passionate about this club and passionate about soccer in New York. We can’t wait to start playing for them.”
NYCFC hope to build their own stadium in the city, but they are more than happy to play at their adopted home for now.
The upper tiers of the stadium were supposed to be closed for home matches, capping the capacity to 30,000. However, with 25,000 tickets already sold for the opening home match against New England Revolution, on March 15, the club will open some upper-tier sections to accommodate demand.
"We are excited to be making more tickets available as we see such strong demand for our first ever home game. We are extremely pleased that so many New Yorkers want to be part of history and be there as we kick off in New York City. This is a landmark moment for our club and for soccer in New York," Glick told the club's website.
As history has shown, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, has never been afraid of setting his stall out in a city to take on the big guys.
When he acquired Manchester City in 2008, the club were transformed from mid-table no-hopers to champions of England within three seasons.
Alex Ferguson, the legendary manager of Manchester United, famously called them “the noisy neighbours”.
Conquering Manchester, where United were the king pins, is one thing. Taking on the other multimillion dollar franchises of New York is something else.
The city that never sleeps is already home to the Giants and Jets (NFL), the Yankees and Mets (MLB), the Rangers and Islanders (NHL) and the Knicks (NBA), while MLS rivals the New York Red Bulls are just around the corner in New Jersey.
NYCFC must work out how to make enough noise to be heard in their own busy neighbourhood.
sports@thenational.ae
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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More on animal trafficking
Everton%20Fixtures
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UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Salem Rashid, Mohammed Al Attas, Alhassan Saleh
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Yahya Nader, Ahmed Barman, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 720hp
Torque: 770Nm
Price: Dh1,100,000
On sale: now
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