What's your role with Brooklyn City FC and when did you get started?
I’m (Jesse DeLorenzo) the President and Founder of the club. I started the club in 2017.

It looks as though last year was supposed to be your inaugural season in the UWS - had the organization existed in any form prior to joining the league and what encouraged you to add a team to UWS?
Yes, we are a comprehensive club for all players, from the grassroots youth levels up through adult teams on both the Men’s and Women’s sides. The UWS team is the latest major piece of the club to be added, albeit a very important one for us. From the inception of the club, we have been committed to starting a women’s first team. We feel it’s so important to have Brooklyn represented in a national pro-am league, in this level of soccer. The Brooklyn City UWS team is also a critical component of an aspiring female player’s development path here in Brooklyn. They can work towards some of the highest levels of the women’s game, without leaving the club.

While some soccer clubs have both a men's team and a women's team, Brooklyn City appears to be a women-centered organization. What hurdles did you find along the way in setting that up? Did you have to hunt for women to join the club, both in the office and on the pitch, or did you find it was easy to fill the positions?
No, actually we do have both men’s and women’s teams. Our men’s teams play in lower divisions of the Cosmopolitan League. While we are inclusive of all players, we do give very high priority and extra support to our girls and women’s teams, as they are typically under-represented and under-served at the club level in New York City. There have not been many hurdles at all, it just takes a genuine commitment to doing it and putting in the work. Within NYC there are fewer female players at all levels, but with some hard work there’s no excuse for clubs not to support the female side of the game. We genuinely feel the lower levels of participation are a direct function of lack of opportunity and commitment by the adult leagues to serve women.

As far as staffing the club, we have had no trouble finding women who are eager to join our organization, and believe in our mission. We’ve been able to find fantastic coaches, business professionals, admin to support all function of the club. Our staff is roughly 50% women, which is extremely rare in New York City.

Brooklyn City FC provide plenty of opportunities to coach as well as for those coaches to advance their skills and understanding of the game

Some organizations would be financially fine without fans, while other models are centered on having supporters come to the matches - how does Brooklyn City keep the bills paid?
The UWS season is a short one, so our model was never too reliant on gate receipts, however it does make a difference not being able to bring in supporters or families who would spend money on a full gameday experience. We are able to support the team through sponsorship, partnership, private donations/funding, traditional fundraising, in addition to temporary cash flow from the youth side of the club.

Aside from having a first team play in the UWS, what other events and functions does the club participate in?
We have close to 20 youth teams playing in various local and regional leagues in the NY Metro area. We have a second women’s team playing 9v9 in a local Brooklyn league, and 2 men’s teams playing in the Cosmopolitan League, amateur level but competitive.

What will success look like at the end of the season?
There are a few ways for us to define success this year, especially with the unique challenges we faced due to COVID, which I think are 5 times worse in NYC. Success for the team will look like a winning season on the pitch. However especially in Year 1, from the club level we are defining success by our ability to provide a quality positive experience for our players, and one that inspires them to return to the club in future seasons. This is so important to us, and will provide a critical foundation to build on for success in future years.

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