NEW YORK: The World Cup has sparked a surge of interest in football -- or soccer as most New Yorkers call it -- but exposed a shortage of pitches in the city for both established players and converts to the beautiful game.
Responding to the demand, Mayor Zohran Mamdani -- a passionate Arsenal supporter -- has announced five free, illuminated pitches open overnight across the city for the duration of the tournament.
But once the FIFA cavalcade rolls out of town, New Yorkers will have to look elsewhere to flex their footballing muscles. “Finding an available field at a good time can honestly be one of the hardest parts, we’re usually trying to play either early or late to avoid leagues with permits,” said avid player and website designer Scott Benson, 29.
“There are a lot of different leagues in NYC all competing for field permits.” While the city’s iconic Central Park has several grass turf soccer fields, availability is patchy elsewhere in the city where astrotur f and concrete surfaces are common.
Still, many require permits that are snapped up by for-profit leagues. Lacking space, some pitches have popped up inside warehouse buildings like one in Brooklyn, wedged between a trash-strewn highway and a pawnbroker. Each week thousands of footballers, many Latin or Caribbean migrants, flock to the astroturf pitches that serve the Crown Heights area, which has few other options.
