New Amsterdam FC

Founding

In November 2019 it was reported that a possible New York–based group had applied for a team in the National Independent Soccer Association, a new third division soccer league. It was then further reported in January 2020 that the investor involved in the New York group was rumored to be Laurence Girard, the CEO of medtech company Fruit Street Health.

A few months later, on April 20, the rumors were confirmed and New Amsterdam FC was officially announced as a New York-based NISA side. At the time of the reveal, it was not announced when New Amsterdam FC would begin playing.

The club was involved with controversy almost from the start, as two competing Twitter accounts both claimed to be the official account of New Amsterdam FC. The first account "@NAFCNY" gathered over 2,000 followers and the second account "@nfcny" barely had 100 when NISA declared that the second account was the "real" official Twitter account, leading to speculation that the club was in dispute with their original social media manager who then refused to hand over access, necessitating a new handle. When the club went on hiatus in 2022, @nafcny still had less than half the followers the original "unofficial" account originally drew.

"Local approach"

In May 2020, it was stated by New Amsterdam sporting director Maximilian Mansfield that the team would opt for a local approach, similar to Spanish club Athletic Bilbao, where 50 to 60 percent of the team will be local New Yorkers. On July 1, 2020, it was announced that New Amsterdam FC would be participating in the NISA Independent Cup, a pre-season tournament created by the league in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to replace the canceled 2020 Spring Season.

Just days later, on July 3, New Amsterdam FC announced their first signing, midfielder Martin Williams from Brooklyn. In the lead-up to the NISA Independent Cup, NAFC held its practices at soccer fields in Battery Park City, near the apartment of owner Girard.

Inaugural season

On July 28, the team announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in New York City it would play its inaugural matches in both the Independent Cup and the Fall 2020 season (both against fellow NISA newcomer and local rival New York Cosmos) behind closed doors at the Hudson Sports Complex in Warwick, New York, 55 miles northwest of New York City. The team announced that it planned to move games back into the city proper as soon as fans are able to attend.

Former US international and Major League Soccer player Eric Wynalda was announced as the first coach in team history on July 30. 18 days later, partway through the NISA Independent Cup and four days before the start of the club's inaugural season, Wynalda stepped down for personal reasons. Sporting director Maximilian Mansfield was named interim manager.

NAFC finished the Independent Cup in last place in the Mid-Atlantic Region, with one point in three games (a record of zero wins, 1 draw, and two losses).

Their struggles continued into the Fall 2020 season, with New Amsterdam going winless in their first fifteen league matches. The club won their first match in club history on June 16, 2021, over San Diego 1904 FC, snapping an eighteen match winless streak across all official competitions. That would be their only win in NISA.

Owner Girard courted controversy by subbing himself in as goalkeeper in the second half of a tied game against the New York Cosmos on August 20. Girard, who had been on the New York Red Bulls academy U18 team for nine months, let in two goals and New Amsterdam lost the match.

New Amsterdam FC ended its inaugural season with a total record of one win, nine losses, and no draws.

Jermaine Jones, who had played for multiple MLS and Bundesliga clubs as well as the German and USMNT, was hired as an assistant coach for the last game of the season and was later interviewed for the vacant head coaching job. Jones lost out to former MLS and Senegalese national goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul Jones left the club, telling the players that he was passed over for the head job because he would not promise in advance to let owner Lawrence Girard play goalkeeper, and Coundoul was.

Second season

New Amsterdam had more success in its sophomore season. With COVID restrictions lifting, the club was able to move to a new home at Hofstra University Soccer Stadium in Nassau County, just seven miles from the Queens border.

The club's goalkeeper controversy continued in 2021, however; Girard appeared on the team sheet as a backup goalkeeper for most matches, and even started at least two matches (which NAFC lost 2-1 and 6-1). This presumed interference from the owner prompted mockery and derision from watchers of the league.

The club finished the 2021 Independence Cup with four points (1-1-1), good for second place in the New England Region. They continued to improve in the 2021 Fall season, ending with a record of 7 wins, 2 draws, and 9 losses. The resulting 23 points put them in fourth place in the league's single-table standings, out of ten teams. Along the way, they set the league's season high for biggest home win with a 4–0 drubbing of San Diego 1904 FC on November 21.

Departure from NISA

Behind the scenes, Girard was feuding with the league. He would later claim that the league failed to provide financial statements, while NISA responded that neither New Amsterdam FC nor Chicago House AC (also owned by Laurence Girard and his family) had paid their league dues for 2021. In a mid-December email to the NISA board of governors, Girard threatened to pull his clubs from competition unless he was granted loans from the league.

On January 25, 2022, the league issued a press release to announce that neither NAFC nor Chicago House would be playing in the U.S. Open Cup. On February 1, it was reported that the NISA board had voted, 6–2, to kick NAFC out of the league. The 2022 NISA schedule was released the following day, with both NAFC and Chicago House removed. Girard responded by filing suit in Delaware's Chancery Court, seeking to have both teams reinstated. Chicago House later joined the Midwest Premier League beginning with the 2022 season.

Co-founder Maximilian Mansfield would later be hired as President and CEO of the second-division club Brooklyn FC. Asked about what he learned during his time with NAFC, Mansfield replied "just know who you're working with, know who you're getting into business with, that's super important and something to learn from."

Additional lawsuit

In the spring of 2022, a lawsuit was filed against both New Amsterdam FC and owner Laurence Girard for failing to repay a $100,000 loan. The plaintiff was Equality Football, LLC, an company owned in part by NISA Commissioner John Prutch and Bob Friedland, owner of NISA side Los Angeles Force. Gerard admitted that Equality Football had loaned NAFC the money for operations in early 2021, but had decided not to pay it back due to what he called the "criminally usurious" terms (including an interest rate of initial 90% rate as of March 2022, and then a 10% monthly rate thereafter), claiming those terms violated New York state laws and made the loan itself illegal and unenforceable. Gerard extended his criticism to the league itself, saying "Other teams (in NISA) have been provided with similar loans. A soccer league should be providing grants or media revenue to clubs to help them launch — not criminally usurious loans."