Brooklyn FC Kicks Off New Era For New York Soccer | OneFootball

BROOKLYN, NY — Against a backdrop of rollercoasters and seaside scenes, Brooklyn FC’s men’s team was finally here, as it played its first game in the USL Championship on Sunday, March 8, 2026, winning 1-0 against Indy Eleven.

The team had originally planned to start play in 2025, but pushed its first season back a year while it made preparations, ensured standards were met on and off the field, and generally made sure it was good to go.

Travelling through the borough to the team’s chosen home, Maimonides Park on Coney Island, blocks of compacted snow lingered following the recent winter storm, but signs of summer crept through on a surprisingly warm Sunday for Brooklyn FC’s first-ever game, which was fitting for the seaside setting.

Jackets were tossed to one side and club colours worn with pride. Despite the men’s team being new, Brooklyn FC’s women’s team has been playing since 2024, so there will no doubt be some crossover in the fanbases. Some of the club shirts will have been bought to support the women in previous years, and were now out for the men’s team as it made its debut.

Outside Maimonides Park, home to the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team and Brooklyn FC. (Photo by James Nalton/The Soccer Times)

This was the second home opener in the five boroughs this weekend, but there was an altogether different vibe about each, demonstrating that location, identity, character, and setting still play a big part in this sport.

Some similarities did exist between New York City’s established MLS franchise kicking off at home up in the Bronx on Saturday, and the brand new USL Championship outfit that played its first-ever game on Coney Island on Sunday.

First, there was that home-opener optimism that exists across sports where the slate is wiped clean and a new season of possibilities lies ahead.

Then there’s also the fact that both teams play in baseball stadiums (even if just for one more year in NYCFC’s case).

These are very different baseball stadiums, though. One the historic home of the most successful team in New York and in baseball, and the darlings of New York sports media coverage. The other, more laid back, down by the beach, and the home of the New York Mets High-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones.

One feels like a fun day out, the other feels like a serious sports stadium. That’s not to disparage Maimonides Park. The opposite, in fact. Sport needs more relaxed, less expensive, fun days out than it does serious business at this moment in time, and Brooklyn FC’s chosen home is one of the best and most attractive places to watch baseball. The challenge now is to make it the same kind of destination for soccer.

On the field, Brooklyn FC is deadly serious, which is a good sign for any prospective new fans. Enjoy the trip, have fun in the stadium, but this team you are going to support won’t be messing around and will give you your money’s worth.

This was shown in a hard-earned win that kicked off their season, and indeed their existence. A goal from the penalty spot, scored by Juan Carlos “JC” Obregón after Peter Mangione had been fouled in the box, was enough to secure the win.

“We clearly have an ability to roll up our sleeves and fight, if that's what needs to be done, and then we can obviously play some football at times too,” Brooklyn FC head coach Marlon LeBlanc said in his post-match press conference.

“I think we're built a little bit differently than the traditional USL team, and I wouldn't want to do it any other way, to be authentic to both my own coaching identity, but also to the personalities of the players.”

There is a desire for a Brooklyn identity within the new franchise, and there is plenty of room for a soccer team to thrive here if it can catch on with a new fanbase for a new team.

An advertisement for Brooklyn FC's home opener seen in the tunnels of the East Broadway subway station, Manhattan. (Photo by James Nalton/The Soccer Times)

Nomadic as New York City FC has been throughout its first decade or so, it has never played a game in Brooklyn. Its use of Yankee Stadium and the Mets' Citi Field has given it links to the Bronx and Queens, but has never really targeted Brooklyn specifically.

That leaves the field open, as it were, for Brooklyn FC. The challenge for the club is to turn occasional visits to the seaside into regular attendance. There were 3,078 spectators present for this opener, and while this was not a statement, headline-grabbing figure, the club will hope to see it grow as awareness is raised across a borough that would be the fourth most populous city in the United States.

A positive sign is that a good portion of that crowd was aware of the pre-match protest from the players, who stood still for a minute to raise awareness of their ongoing negotiations with the league for better working conditions.

It is encouraging that many of those in attendance knew what this was, and even more encouraging that they showed solidarity with the workers by chanting “stand with players.” The pocket of Indy Eleven fans who had made the trip joined in with the same show of solidarity.

It showed there was some existing knowledge of the American soccer landscape and of USL, again suggesting crossover with the Brooklyn FC women’s team.

It is difficult to tell what any new team entering a league will feel like until it plays its first game, but this team feels like one that local fans can get behind. Let’s hope the borough of Brooklyn does get behind it and supports a team that could rival New York City FC in the city and maybe even on the field, and be taken into Brooklynites’ hearts.