Through the partnership, NYCFC will be able to offer small to medium size businesses across the five boroughs unprecedented opportunities to expose their products and services to not only fans at NYCFC home games, but also across social media and broadcast. The move is part of a concerted effort by the Club to provide meaningful support to local businesses as they work to recover from the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eleven’s investment in the NYCFC Academy, in keeping with more than a dozen similar youth-focused investments at clubs across its native UK, will help NYCFC continue developing top local homegrown talent, building on the successes of James Sands, Joe Scally, Justin Haak, Tayvon Gray, Andres Jasson and \Christian \McFarlane – all NYCFC homegrown players. The investment is a first for Eleven outside of the UK, where it sponsors academies, youth, B-teams and women’s teams across the British Isles.

NYCFC has had a strong rolodex of local, national and international partners since its inception in 2015, but home is where the heart is, and NYCFC has partnered with Eleven to develop an all-new program to make those same opportunities available to smaller businesses in the region.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of New York City and have been disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, NYCFC and Eleven Sports Media will create a full portfolio of accessible partnership and branding opportunities during home games at Yankee Stadium, as well as managed events and networking activities to further activate their brands in connection with the Club.

Matt Goodman, Chief Commercial Officer and COO at NYCFC, commented: “We are the soccer team of the five boroughs. Our role is two-fold: to connect with the local communities that we are proud to represent and to empower better lives through soccer. We want to do everything we can to help pick up the small businesses. They are the fabric of New York City.

“The most exciting part about partnering with Eleven is that shared focus on small business and on investing in young local talent. Eleven’s history with global soccer, coupled with an emphasis on community and youth soccer, is the most unique part of how Eleven operates.

“This partnership will give NYCFC a larger platform to speak to more fans and give more local, small businesses a bigger platform for success. And that to us is the most important part.”

Matt Cairns, Founder and CEO of Eleven Sports Media, said: “We were founded on the principle of linking clubs with the businesses in the communities that are so important to them and their fans. We are one of those businesses ourselves.

“The larger a club gets, the harder it can often be to divert resources away from the headline-grabbing main sponsors to focus on all those smaller businesses that form the bedrock of the communities they serve. We exist to create that bridge.

“Our partnership with NYCFC will allow SMEs across New York to affordably benefit from the huge exposure the Club can give them and the hands-on activation and experiential services we provide. Meanwhile, our investment in the Club’s Academy means we can make a real difference to the Club’s mission in its community.

“We have a long history supporting clubs in the Premier League and throughout the football pyramid in the UK. It’s really exciting to now begin our journey in the MLS in New York, one of the world’s great sporting cities, and with a Club like NYCFC that so closely shares our community-focused purpose.”