New York City Soccer Initiative partners – the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC, New York City Football Club, U.S. Soccer Foundation, adidas and Etihad Airways – will unveil a mini-pitch with a community event in Flushing Meadows Corona Park Oct. 10.
New York City Soccer Initiative is a first-of-its-kind $3 million public-private partnership to build, maintain and program 50 mini-soccer pitches across all five boroughs over five years and expand free soccer programming to reach 10,000 young New Yorkers.
This year’s event will be headlined by a photo exhibition featuring the street soccer culture of NYC as captured by young people from around the city.
After the ribbon cutting ceremony, there will be a series of youth led soccer games to formally open the new Flushing Meadows Corona Park mini-soccer pitch.
The new mini-soccer pitch will be located in front of the Fountain of the Planets.
Among those expected to attend:
* Darren Bloch, Senior Advisor to Mayor Bill de Blasio and director, Mayor’s Office of Strategic Partnerships
* Chirlane McCray, First Lady of NYC
* Brad Sims, NYCFC CEO
* Claudio Reyna, NYCFC sporting Director
* Domènec Torrent, NYCFC head coach
* Select NYCFC players
* Ed Foster-Simeon, U.S. Soccer Foundation president and CEO
* Ernesto Bruce, adidas General Manager Key Cities for New York
* Vincent Frascogna, Etihad Airways vice president of Americas
* Michael Dockett, Queens Parks Borough commissioner
