NEW YORK – Queensboro FC Thursday announced a strategic alliance with Bayamón Fútbol Club to give youth in Puerto Rico the opportunity to try out for the QBFC Academy.

Founded in October 2020, the QBFC Academy is a development system for Umder-19 players to train, compete and hone their skills with an eye toward becoming a professional player for the club’s senior team in the USL Championship.

QBFC head coach and sporting director Josep Gombau will be in attendance for the academy’s first Puerto Rico tryouts will extendinvitations to select players to join the squad in New York City as part of the club’s QBFC Residency Program.

Tryouts take place on March 21st and registration takes place at: www.queensborofc.com/bayamonfc.

Bayamón FC is Puerto Rico’s largest soccer club. In 2016, the club became the first member of QBFC co-owner David Villa’s DV7 Soccer Academy program. This announcement serves as the first of many partnerships that QBFC plans to form with international clubs.

New York has the largest Puerto Rican population of any city in the world. In a press release, QBFC said that it plans to be a bridge connecting the two communities through the uniting force of soccer. Not only will this partnership provide a “pathway to the pros” for talent to be discovered through the QBFC and Bayamón FC network, and receive a chance to play in New York City.

Preseason training and future friendly matches will take place in Puerto Rico, using top facilities such as the Bayamón Soccer Complex and the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, its national stadium.

“Outside of the island itself, the cultural heartbeat of Puerto Rico is right here in New York City, and we are proud to have Bayamón FC as a partner,” Gombau said in a statement. “QBFC prides itself in being a community-first sporting organization, and we look forward to strengthening ties with Nuyoricans, and Puerto Ricans at large, by providing opportunities for young aspiring footballers to compete at a professional level.”

Added Bayamón FC president Alberto Santiago: “This partnership represents a very important step for Bayamón FC. It has always been a priority for our club to provide the best resources to our players, and this alliance with QBFC will give them real opportunities to play professional soccer in the United States.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.