Hi Footy Friend,

Welcome to the "what the hell goes on behind the scenes at Footy" email, which gives you a look into the journey that makes this league available to you.

The last "State of the Flock" update was in January 2023, reflecting on our most intense year yet and the challenges we overcame (including fighting for our survival). If you're feeling nostalgic, you can read that email here and if you want to read this one later, you can find it on our blog as well, here.

Now, two years later, I’m again writing from our annual station in Brazil. This trip, intended to be a joyful visit with family as always, has been clouded by my father-in-law’s failed surgery, resulting in a precipitous health decline and an extended stay in the ICU (where he currently remains). A situation where regaining his ability to even talk (let alone walk), will be cause for monumental celebration.

I won't carry on too much about the perspective that events like these bring to us. But I will deeply acknowledge how it helps us appreciate our health and the health of those we love, how quickly it changes priorities and how suddenly we find emotional strength we didn't know we had or time we didn't know was available.

When I started NYC Footy, I had just turned 29. I'm now turning 43. It's wild how such a small span can find oneself amazed, daily, at the vibrancy and growth of youth (children) juxtaposed against the merciless aging of our parents. It all happened (and continues to happen) so unrelentingly fast.

I promise that the melancholic tone of this email stops right here. Before we get started, however, I want to share with you two quotes that reign true to me in my life and perhaps yours as well (and yes, my soccer loyalties are clear #YNWA):

“Football is the most important of the least important things” - Jurgen Klopp (also attributed to, you guessed it, Pope John Paul II. I once went to a mass with PJPII, so I consider it fate.)

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." Bill Shankly

Now, let’s talk about what we achieved in 2024 and our big goals for 2025. Spoiler: you’re a crucial part of this journey (more crucial than you might expect - read till the end).

*How It Started (In NYC, Year 2011). I (#10) was squeezing all the juice I could out of this great city. Now I live in the Jersey suburbs (#saynomore).*

The NYC Footy Community: Who Are We?

NYC Footy is the largest adult soccer league in the nation. That fact continues to blows our minds and many of our friends' minds—especially our British friends who almost can't handle the added reality that every single team is also mixed-gender.

In 2024, we welcomed more than 10,000 new players, bringing us to nearly 50,000 humans (and a few dogs, cats, and pigeons).

Here’s a quick breakdown of our players:

Team Captains: The community builders who make it all happen. Captains, we're working on a rewards program just for you.

Free Agents: New Yorkers looking to join a team solo or with a small group of friends. This is how my journey in rec soccer began almost 20 years ago.

Team Players: The ones who show up when their captain tells them (and hopefully pay on time. I'm looking at you, Juan 👀). They're also least likely to read this newsletter...

In 2025, we'll be working hard to make sure this newsletter (and all comms) engages everyone, even the Juans. (Juan, if you're seeing this. I love you like a son.)

*Due to budget cuts on champagne, we decided to have all 3 division champs celebrate together at the 2024 Cup of Dreams.*

What Was New and Improved in 2024?

THE TEAM

2024 was the year our team grew to a point where, for the most part, folks are falling into a more predictable work schedule and recovering distant memories of weekends free of labor. We grew our full time, part-time and contractor staff to over 100.

Customer Success: Now a team of three, we’re handling inquiries 7 days a week and improving wait times on a daily basis. Fede & Zee will now have more time to focus on player happiness & retention.

League Operations: With Meghan and Amanda joining the "heart" of our organization, our leagues are more organized than ever, improving our ability to grow more seamlessly.

Field Operations: Gabe stepped into a full-time role to join Pat and keep the warehouse organized and logistics running smoothly alongside our part-time crew.

Events & Sponsorships: Fabricio joined to lead tournaments and partnerships, helping us offer more non-league programs while invitin creative additions through new brand partnerships.

Referees: With leadership from Gianluca & Andrew, we increased our referee head count to over 100, with a core group of 80 active seasonal referees (yes, 80), 25% of whom came through our internal training and development program (if interested in joining, apply here for your chance to win the coveted NYC Footy Golden Whistle Award).

Market Expansion: We hired Alex, a former long time NYC Footy captain to lead our first out-of-state market.

Other: We added a slew of part-timer support and contractors (including moms of two team members (myself included)) to help us scale our efforts across all departments.

PROGRAMS

We take great pride in constantly injecting newness into the operation. This is why every year you'll see new programs, formats and events designed to bring the community together in unique ways.

New from 2024:

The Cup of Dreams: Our first indoor tournament is held at the nation's 2nd largest mall and neighbor to the World Cup Final's MetLife Stadium: American Dream. This new annual tournament was a massive hit and a personal highlight (or not) for me.

Footy for Singles: The interest broke our email open record as we launched our first event designed to help footy lovers find...love—stay tuned for Valentine’s Day 2025.

Year-Round Indoor: Expanded indoor leagues to all four seasons.

New Fields: We launched our first league in The Bronx and grew our locations to over 70 in NYC.

MIA Footy: We flocked south for the winter, launching our first leagues in Miami, setting the stage for Footy Fest: Miami in March.

TECHNOLOGY

NYC Footy App: Designed to level up the player experience, captains can now leave feedback on referees and opponents and players can more readily see their schedule, standings and new leagues.

Website: Upgraded interactive field map, added an official events page, and improved overall responsiveness. Continued makeovers planned in 2025 Q1.

Footy HQ: Our community forum for recruiting players and teammates has now grown to over 4,000 members.

CONTENT & SPONSORS

Social Media: Our instagram following hit 50K with engaging rec soccer memes (like this) and full-scale productions (like this).

Sponsors: Highlights include partnerships with Paloma (see my favorite video of the year), JD Sports, Waterloo Sparkling Water, Brooklyn FC, Mack Weldon, MVPs, Pocket Coffee (what's that), Manhattan FC (support free youth soccer programming), and the return of El Buho Mezcal (and our Pigeon Punch).

*I promise this referee doesn't need glasses...Footy Refs receive ongoing training and support (and player respect)*

The Challenges

Fortunately, 2024 didn't deliver the type of existential crisis we faced in 2022. And I'm proud to say that we have made enormous improvements in key categories: referee no shows (only 3 across over 10,000 games in 2024), customer service delays (we currently reduced our longest wait to under 24 hours) and we've heavily reduced league disruptions (e.g. equipment failures, field changes, etc.).

However, as the dust continues to settle, our more challenging, stubborn difficulties remain at the forefront (to be heavily prioritized this year):

Female Player Recruitment: Balancing mixed-gender teams remains our biggest challenge, particularly with free agent teams.

Advanced Player Recruitment: As our beginner and intermediate communities have soared in recent years, we've seen significantly slower growth on the advanced player front, limiting the number of P1 leagues we offer.

Protecting the Beginner Experience: Our end of year survey surfaced one clear reality for Beginner players: there are too many experienced players joining P5 leagues. With an overhauled skill-level auditing process, this will come to a stop in 2025. Learn more about skill-compliance.

Permit Issues: Seasonal permits where soccer receives lowest priority during peak seasons, makes it difficult to maintain consistent locations year round and hinders our ability to meet demand and build sustainable micro communities.
- Our biggest challenges remain Harlem, Sunset Park, Williamsburg and Midtown.

Limited Sports Lighting: The most practical solution for solving availability issues, particularly since soccer gets priority in fall & winter, when the sun sets before most Footy folks finish work.

Communication Overload: Keeping our growing community informed without overwhelming them is a constant struggle.

Our promise to you is that we accept the challenge and promise to commit every ounce of energy to make strides improving the player experience.

*2025 is gearing up to see a meaningful increase in women ballers of all skill levels joining the Footy community.*

2025: What To Expect

COSTS & PRICING

Let's start with the less than ideal news. Starting this spring, the NYC Parks Department is more than doubling permit fees. Yes, a 100%+ increase.

While this will impact league prices, we remain committed to affordability. In fact, our average team price in 2024 is still lower than it was nearly 15 years ago, when we first started. To uphold this commitment, we are taking the following measures:

Added discounts for registering early. Early registration helps us close out leagues sooner and focus our energy on adding new leagues and filling less convenient locations. Win-Win.

Reducing the price for numerous leagues in our Tier 3 pricing category (learn about our pricing here). Look for incredible deals in Sunset Park, Harlem, The Bronx, Ridgewood and more.

Confining most price increases or discount removals to our highest demand locations. So if you're willing to commute or play later at night, our Tier 2 and Tier 3 leagues will offer an opportunity to have a high quality soccer experience at a lower price.

Expanding our referral program and generously rewarding referrals with no-cap credits. If you're a solid networker, you may just find yourself playing for free. Keep your eyes peeled for Referral Week, where credit awards are doubled.

ACCESSIBILITY

This remains our north star. Make soccer happen everywhere, for everyone. For 2025, we'll be focusing on:

Increase recruitment efforts for female players. We're working to push up our current percentage of female players (1/3 of our community), helping us better balance teams and launch more female-majority programs.

Increase recruitment efforts for advanced players. Ain't nothing like watching two high-level mixed-gender teams duke it out in a P1 Championship game. We're pushing to make more of those happen in 2025.

Keeping a closer watch on our beginner leagues, ensuring those new to soccer are having the best time ever. Plus, through our partnership with BetterPlayer, offering beginner players discounted access to skill development.

Expand into more neighborhoods and creating affordable leagues in less dense areas. While such expansion (now 70+ locations) has made many of us a bit lazy (why commute when there's a league close to home?), the good news is some Tier 1 fields have become Tier 3 leagues as a result, creating affordable options in once popular locations.

Partner with companies to sponsor teams for our corporate leagues, reducing costs for players.

Fight for lights: Our efforts single-handedly helped secure $500,000 for lights at a field in midtown (loading...) and a more amenable Parks Department to exploring new, innovative options. We'll continue to lead on this front.

POLICIES

Introduce upfront promotional discounts to replace last-minute deals. Visit our promotion & discount page for more details.

Reward captains and enhance loyalty rewards with exclusive perks and discount windows.

Clarify weather protocols to reduce confusion, particularly when games are actually canceled (a rarity with Footy's "Game On" culture). See weather protocol for more details.

Ensure player confidence when registering for "Anticipated" Leagues: Anticipated leagues (⏰) are at locations with unconfirmed permit dates and times, which may change or be revoked entirely. This includes midtown east fields, Pier 40, and Brooklyn Bridge Park. We're making updates to keep players better informed of their options, if a permit doesn't land as anticipated.

NEWNESS & INNOVATION

Launch new tournaments, starting with Footy Fest Miami in March and The Fuchs Fest in partnership with EPL winner Christian Fuchs this April in the Hudson Valley. Both tournaments are already approaching 100 participants!

Launch new locations: With Miami off to a faster start than NYC, we're beginning the planning stages of two additional markets in 2025.

Experiment with wildly creative formats: think penalty kicks with two balls, allowing hands for power plays, etc.—share your ideas here!

Continue expanding our technology footprint to get key information to players faster and give our community greater voice. Be sure to download the NYC Footy app to enjoy these upgrades.

Upgrade the user experience online: We'll keep improving the way you discover and register for leagues. In fact, this spring you'll immediately benefit by user experience upgrades in the registration process.

*The NYC Footy app has a few tricks up its sleeve.*

*My co-founder Gerardo Cueva and I (I'm on the right) at Footy Fest 2024.*

Whether you've been a player, referee, partner, or supporter since our early days or this is your first newsletter (they aren't always this long btw) thank you for being part of this journey.

Questions, feedback, or personal tales of triumph, defeat, and getting back on your feet you want to share with NYC Footy? Send them our way at:

[email protected]

I'm grateful that you've chosen NYC Footy to be the place to share your passion for the pitch.
Bye for now.

-Tarek and the Footy Fam

P.S. This remains my favorite footy email of all time. Oh, and this year let's get back to the insanely creative team photos (like the one below).