MIAMI: Manchester City and the New York Yankees have formed a new Major League Soccer team to play in New York City from 2015, the organisations said yesterday.
English Premier League club Manchester City, owned by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, will be the majority partner in New York City Football Club with the Yankees, the biggest name in baseball, an “active member of the ownership group”.
“This is another big day for soccer in America,” MLS commissioner Don Garber.
“We have worked for quite some time on trying to finalise a deal to bring the 20th MLS team to New York City. Two of the biggest, most prestigious and clearly most respected sports organisations in the world are joining together to own this team,” he added.
The ‘franchise fee’ for the new club is around $100m.
The new club will face a local rival in the New York Red Bulls who play in Harrison, New Jersey and are owned by Austrian energy drink firm Red Bull.
Garber said MLS viewed a new top-flight team in New York City itself as a “transformational” moment for the league.
“This is a big market and represents over 19 million people,” he said.
“I think it will be transformational for MLS and for soccer in America. This country is rapidly becoming a very powerful and passionate soccer nation and it is our view that bringing together these two organizations will allow us to continue that tremendous momentum and bring it arguably to the most important city in the entire world,” he added.
Manchester City, who won the Premier League in the 2011/12 season, hope that the Yankees will allow them to tap into expertise in reaching sports fans in New York.
“This is the best of both worlds - we believe we know how to manage a soccer club and the Yankees are a top sports organisation in the world and are true New Yorkers,” Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano said, yesterday to reporters.
REUTERS
