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This past week:
- Last Saturday’s Governors’ Cup presented by NYC Footy was a blast. It was a scorcher out too, a great last official weekend of Summer. Nearly 20 teams were kicking it for a minimum of 4 games each before heading into the playoff rounds. Got some great shots and met a ton of new people who came out from all over the 5 boroughs and beyond to play. Their next tournament is upstate! Check it out here for more details
- SoFive was an incredible space. The facilities are pristine, and though it might seem out of the way to many, it clearly serves a community that doesn’t have as easy access to parks like Flushing Meadows. While there I met a Russian-American group of friends. They’ve been playing every Saturday evening together for ages, some even coming all the way from New Jersey to kick it. That’s dedication to the beautiful game.
- “No to racism in football, no to racism in society. But we don’t have just to say it. We have to fight against it,” proclaimed FIFA President Gianni Infantino the FIFA Best Awards ceremony this week. Messi won the Best Men’s Player Award, and Megan Rapinoe won the Best Women’s Player Award while also taking time in her speech to call for equality, and not just in player pay.
Coming up:
- Established in 1923, the Cosmopolitan Soccer League is one of the oldest and most established amateur soccer leagues in the country. If you want to catch a match, check out NY Pancyprian Freedoms VS Doxa FC 8pm this Sunday at St John’s University’s Belson Stadium in Jamaica, Queens.
- The second round of Champions League games is already upon us next Tuesday and Wednesday! Is the biggest game Barcelona VS Inter Milan, or Tottenham VS Bayern Munich? Barcelona are having their worst start to the season in 25 years. Though, after Tottenham’s loss to Colchester in the Carabao Cup—a team 71 places below them in the English League standings!—both teams have something to prove.
Weekly Face of Fútbol:
Name: José María Rodriguez
Age: 76
From: Uruguay, though moved to NYC almost 50 years ago
Resides in: Jackson Heights
“I used to play fútbol in Flushing Meadows Park. Some of my friends went pro. Then they built a stadium where we used to play, but it was for tennis! I don’t understand the USA sometimes. In South America, in Europe, in Africa, they all love fútbol, but here in Queens we have baseball and tennis.”
I met José María and some of his friends while catching a game at La Gran Uruguaya, an incredible dual restaurant on one side, bakery on the other. The bakery smells of delicious homemade pastries and it’s decked out in soccer paraphernalia. This is what I love about Queens, soccer is everywhere.
Send me any upcoming events you know about and I’ll share them next time around! I’m always looking for new fields, new leagues, and new anything fútbol.
And feel free to forward this, it’s just the start.
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See you on the pitch,
—Jon D