USMNT star Tim Weah joins ownership team of Brooklyn FC

United States men’s national team star Tim Weah has officially signed on as a part owner of Brooklyn FC. The newly formed club is set to field both men’s and women’s teams in the United Soccer League. The women’s team will begin play later this year in the USL Super League, while the men’s side is scheduled to be introduced in the USL Championship in 2025.

Weah was born in the New York borough and played youth soccer in the area as a child. The winger eventually departed the United States to join Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 14. After a spell with the French champions, Weah moved on to Lille and then Juventus. His latest move to the Old Lady last summer cost the club around $11 million.

While Weah is an investor in the American side, the team has not revealed the percentage of the star’s ownership. Nevertheless, Brooklyn has confirmed that the winger is helping to fund the club’s entire setup. This includes the aforementioned men’s and women’s teams, as well as an academy as well.

Weah set to feature for the USMNT at the 2024 Copa America

“I am grateful for the opportunity to join Brooklyn Football Club’s ownership team and strengthen our connection to the people of New York, the borough I was born in, and the city I love,” Weah said in a statement. “BKFC is a grassroots-oriented club, focused on providing not only top-level professional football but new pathways and opportunities for women and men off the pitch as well.”

The star winger is in Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT training camp squad for the 2024 Copa America. The Stars and Stripes play two matches ahead of the prestigious tournament later this summer. Weah and his teammates will first face Colombia in Maryland on June 8th. They will then travel south to Florida to play against Brazil four days later. The Americans begin their 2024 Copa America with a matchup with Bolivia on June 23rd.

Brooklyn’s investment group also owns multiple foreign clubs

“In addition to achieving excellence on the pitch, Tim is deeply committed to joining us in our mission to give back to Brooklyn communities and further grow the sport that has given us so much,” stated Brooklyn FC CEO Mack Mansfield.

“Tim’s journey from Brooklyn to the biggest stages in international and club football inspires all New York footballers and further helps us instill an elite winning culture across all our men’s, women’s, and academy programs.”

North Sixth Group currently holds a majority stake in Brooklyn FC. Along with the American side, the collective also owns several foreign clubs. This includes Swiss outfit FC Locarno and newly promoted Serie C side Campobasso. Television personality couple Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are minority investors in the latter Italian club. The American group also recently acquired the lower-level English team Dagenham & Redbridge.

The USL Super League begins later this fall, with eight teams set to battle it out. Christian Unkel, typically seen as a rules analyst with CBS Sports, is the president of the Tampa Bay Sun. The league will become the second premier women’s soccer division in the United States alongside the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

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