Telling the American story through American soccer.
Supporting the masses in doing the same.
The history of soccer, in America and in Brooklyn, is a powerful lens on community. Expression through sport asks questions about the nature of identity, and about the collective space we make together in a changing, multicultural world.
The Museum exists to tell stories of the sport of the people, to the full American public. The popular perception, of America's lukewarm embrace of soccer, both de-centers the immigrant experience and inhibits the country's faith in the sport's future. We can correct this by engaging the world as the World Cup does -- across multimedia, through the lens of the connections the sport forges.
Soccer is a grassroots game, and the keeping of its history is no exception. Much of the sport's physical history has been sitting in attics, basements, and collection rooms ; many of its stories have only been told person-to-person for generations.
This status is fragile. Much of the country's rich soccer history has been lost to time, and more will be lost without action. We support these grassroots keepers of the game through preservation work -- scanning, archiving, interviewing, and all else that's needed to continue telling these stories.
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Our flagship exhibit tells the story of America's first true national championship, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and the nine Brooklyn teams that have won it.
Individually, these teams were founded by & named after America's many immigrant groups. Together, they span each decade of the 20th century, and tell a powerful tale of our country's melting pot.
N.B. Please excuse our technical issues! Soon, you can return to browse the below section on these teams digitally -- in the meantime, read about them on our Instagram, or use the link below to visit us in person.
