NYC Footy: A home for everyone (18+. Sorry kids.)

At NYC Footy, we strive to continue to create more inclusive spaces for our community.

From the start, NYC Footy has always been a co-ed league. From year one, when we began getting requests for men’s leagues, we didn’t budge, despite the obvious growth that would come with making the change.

As we’ve grown and as the environment has changed, we began getting requests for women’s leagues as well. We continued to not budge.

But that doesn’t mean we haven’t evolved. For starters, we have recently moved away from co-ed and towards the more inclusive “mixed gender,” which, to be fair, is actually how it’s phrased in many other countries.

Despite mixed gender being core to our ethos here at Footy, we’re aware that soccer, and on a larger scale, the sports landscape more broadly, has been dominated by males. Inclusion is not only hard, but many times, an afterthought.

While the needle has started to move closer towards gender parity (many thanks to soccer and our very own USWNT), the general sense is that sports, and in our case, recreational sports, is still a male oriented space and one that still lives in the female/male binary.

For some people that’s not an issue. For others, it matters most.

That is why NYC Footy continues to evolve as a community and make changes within how we operate in order to reflect the needs of our community members.

There are already members of our community who have created these types of smaller communities, and have maintained them for a long time; communities and teams that reverse the gender norms of co-ed leagues and value inclusion above all else. One great example: EWAM (Exceptional Women, Average Men). Another, LFLD (Left-Footed Letdown) and a 3rd, an evolution from the early days: Headballaz (the longest running team in NYC Footy).

These teams, and many more throughout the league, disregard the gender requirements in favor of a more unbiased approach, going beyond the gender minimum requirements. While there might be a two female minimum on the field, more often than not there are 4,5 or 6 female players on the field, (read: two female minimum IS NOT two female maximum).

And just to dispel any lingering biases, EWAM has won an absurd amount of titles in Beginner through Intermediate/Advanced leagues over the years.

EWAM after another title

We will continue to be a community that fosters and supports these teams, drives the league towards more parity, and remains a welcoming place for all, binary or non-binary alike.

To the effect, there’s a couple things that we’ve taken it upon ourselves to do.

First, we're experimenting with increasing the minimum of women on each team by creating a reverse ratio league.

Instead of a 7v7 match where there is a two female minimum, there’s a two male maximum.

Honestly, we wish we trialed this sooner. But we’re here now and we expect this to be a growing staple of NYC Footy season in and season out.

If you’re interested in joining, you can find the registration page right below.

We believe that this new format is a way for more females and non-binary players to feel core to NYC Footy and not an after-thought by way of a small female-minimum.

Our goal with this flipped league is that people will enjoy it, which is always our goal, but also that Footy players will be able to find and create new communities they might not have thought available to them in NYC Footy.

Off the pitch, we’re creating more ways for our female and and non-binary players to connect, organizing watch parties and other events, and partnering with WIS (Women-In-Soccer), a community united by the inclusive spirit of soccer, who helped us to create our Ted Lasso Code of Conduct.

Moving on from “Co-ed”

Finally, we want to bring up the subject of language, specifically the term: co-ed.

The term co-ed reflects a dynamic that is inherently binary.

To prevent that term from being a boundary for anyone, a more accurate word/phrase than “co-ed” is “mixed-gender”. That’s why we’ve recently moved to this.

However you identify, you’re welcome in NYC Footy. Just be kind, understanding and respectful. Oh, and “keep it clean”.

We learn because of our experience, because of our partnerships, and most importantly because as our community grows and engages with us, we can tailor our efforts and understanding to you.

Please keep making NYC Footy special. Please continue helping us grow and evolve, and if you have any thoughts at all on how we can make Footy a better home, you know where to find us.

Love Always,
James