Soccer superstar David Villa commits to Queens, but his new club doesn’t have a stadium yet
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David Villa is co-owner of Queensboro FC. Eagle photo by David Brand.
By David Brand
Fifteen months after the Eagle first broke news about a brand new soccer team coming to Queens, the club’s co-owner sat down for an interview to discuss his goals for the borough’s latest professional sports endeavor.
But the owner is not a typical businessperson. He is David Villa, one of European soccer’s most prolific scorers and greatest players of all time. Villa, 38, is the son of a coal miner from the Spanish region of Asturias who went on to play for some of the world’s top clubs. He also tied for the most goals in the 2010 World Cup — a tournament that he and Spain won.
Villa said Queens has a passion for soccer that rivals other international cities, including Barcelona and Madrid. That energy motivated him to establish a team in the borough, he said.
“I feel the passion of Queens for everything, and for soccer,” he said. “It’s the borough with more demand for soccer in the world, but without a team.”
Villa spoke to the Eagle Tuesday night at City Hall while a British documentary crew recorded the conversation. Councilmember Francisco Moya, a soccer fan who has helped shepherd the Queensboro FC project, sat in on the discussion, providing some context about the plan for the team.
Villa plans to play an administrative role with his club and specifically said he has no interest in coaching.
He also said he does not plan to lace up his cleats for the team, though he seemed to leave open the possibility. And he laughed when reminded that legendary Spanish striker Raúl — whose number 7 jersey Villa inherited on the national team — came to New York City and played for the Cosmos, another local professional club.
“I retired a month ago and we will see what we can do interesting next year,” he said when asked about playing for the new club. Villa most recently played for a team in Japan after four years with New York City Football Club in Major League Soccer. “I want to be involved with everything that happens in Queens.”
“I’m still working on him,” Moya chimed in.
Queensboro FC will begin play next year in the United Soccer League, the second tier of US professional soccer, below MLS. It remains unclear where they will play, however.
Councilmember Francisco Moya (right) has helped shepherd the team, though he declined to discuss specifics about a stadium project. Eagle photo by David Brand
The club initially announced that it would take the field at York College, but that plan has not been solidified. York College President Dr. Berenecea Johnson Eanes declined to comment on continuing negotiations.
Moya said an eventual permanent stadium for the team will be privately funded, “so they’re not asking for any subsidies from the city.”
“We’re in conversations with CUNY,” Moya said. “But we’re all excited about what’s coming in 2021. We think everything will be good for Queens and we’ll make an official announcement about where the stadium will be in the coming months.”
Moya said the stadium project will hire locally and provide union jobs, though he declined to share specifics.
“I don’t think I can recall a team that has come into New York and said, ‘We’re going to privately fund this, we’re not asking the city for any subsidies,’” he said. “We want to make sure they find a location that is suitable.”
Moya would not say where stadium would be located at Willets Point — one plan submitted by a task force that he co-chaired.
“We have a lot of locations on the table and we are going to make those announcements soon,” Moya said.
DV7 Academy, Villa’s New York City youth soccer program, will serve as the development system for the club, similar to Spanish “canteras.”
Queensboro FC will prioritize players from in and around the borough, Villa said.
The club also has a coach and a sporting director, though Villa declined to name them.
“We are working already with a coach, but it’s private,” he said. “We are working already with a sporting director, but it’s private [too].”
“We have a lot of time. We are scouting players and looking for the talent in Queens,” he added.
And as for whether he plans to bring some old friends and colleagues from Europe to play for the club, that’s a secret too.
But whoever they are, Villa said, the players on the pitch and the personnel working for the club will reflect “the family” vibes he experienced at his most successful sides, including the World Cup-winning Spanish National Team.
“Good players, good persons, good feelings, good family,” he said. “We will try to replicate something similar with my experience in Queens.”
