A French Revolution in New York: Indoor Soccer

Jean-David Tartour, one of the two French founders of Socceroof, had already created a successful indoor soccer company in France. But by the mid-2010s, European demand for the sport was maxing out, Mr. Tartour said. So he decided, much like the Sofive founders, to tackle the untapped American market. He partnered with Jérôme Meary, a French agent who represents international Major League Soccer athletes. They opened Socceroof in the industrial waterfront of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, in 2018.

Unlike in France, Mr. Tartour explained, New York soccer clubs often don’t have dedicated venues for play, which can cause planning challenges, especially during the colder months.

This was the case for Sporting Club Gjoa, a club of 27 children’s teams based in Brooklyn. Its assistant director, Anthony Brockbank, said his teams used to practice in various high school gyms between early November and mid-March. But it wasn’t ideal.

“You’d have to wait for after-school activities to finish to start practice, which was too late for most families,” Mr. Brockbank said.

Now the club’s teams practice most afternoons at Socceroof. Even though playing there is more expensive than renting school gyms, Mr. Brockbank said the club has been able to balance its budget in other ways, and the earlier practice hours make a difference in children’s participation.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/nyregion/indoor-soccer-new-york-city.html