United States men’s national team and Juventus winger Tim Weah has joined the ownership group of Brooklyn FC, which will operate professional women’s and men’s teams in the United Soccer League beginning later this year.
Weah, 24, was born in Brooklyn and played youth soccer in New York before moving to France.
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Brooklyn FC declined to share Weah’s stake in the team but confirmed that he is investing in the entire club, including a first-division women’s team that launches in August in the USL Super League, a second-division men’s team that launches in 2025 in the USL Championship and a free-to-play academy.
“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.”
Weah made his first appearance for the USMNT in 2018, the same year he made his senior debut for Paris Saint-Germain.
He signed a five-year contract with Juventus last year after stops with Celtic on loan and Lille in France’s Ligue 1.
Weah won league titles with Celtic and Lille.
He helped Juventus win a Coppa Italia title earlier this month.
Weah, the son of former Liberia president and 1995 Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, was part of the USMNT squad that made it out of group play at the 2022 World Cup and is expected to play a significant role with the team at this summer’s Copa América.
Brooklyn FC’s professional teams will play out of Maimonides Park on Coney Island, the longtime home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the New York Mets.
Maimonides Park briefly hosted soccer in 2017 when the New York Cosmos played there.
The men’s and women’s teams will share the same name and badge.
The women’s team will host its home opener in the USL Super League, which is a challenger first division to the National Women’s Soccer League, on Aug. 31 against Carolina Ascent FC.
Weah joins an ownership group led by North Six Group and chairman Matt Rizzetta, who also owns Italian Serie B side Ascoli FC.
“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,” Brooklyn FC CEO Mack Mansfield said in a statement.
“We look forward to competing for championships at Maimonides Park this coming season and beyond.”
