Not Just a Team, a Movement: Gotham FC’s Vision with Yael Averbuch West

In this episode of Greetings from the Garden State, Mike heads to Whippany to sit down with Yael Averbuch West, General Manager and Head of Soccer Operations at NJ/NY Gotham FC. A proud Montclair native and former U.S. Women’s National Team player, Yael shares her journey from Jersey youth soccer fields to global tournaments—and now to the front office of one of the most ambitious clubs in women’s soccer.

They dive into the unique soccer culture of New Jersey, what it takes to build a world-class roster, and how Gotham FC is carving out its own path—separate from the traditional models of women’s teams riding the coattails of men’s clubs. Yael also opens up about the ongoing learning curve of being a GM, the importance of community engagement, and how Gotham FC is growing its reach as both a competitive franchise and cultural movement.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• Yael’s upbringing in Montclair and New Jersey’s reputation as a soccer hotbed
• The evolution of her playing career and transition into club leadership
• Building a team with international stars and world-class talent
• How Gotham FC is redefining what it means to be an independent women’s sports brand
• The club’s vision to become a globally recognized name in women’s soccer
• Game day experiences, theme nights, and community initiatives like “Keep Her in the Game”
• Why New Jersey and the NYC metro area offer something for everyone
• How fans, from casual supporters to die-hards, help shape Gotham FC’s future

Resources & Links:
🎟 Tickets, newsletter sign-up, and more: GothamFC.com
📱 Follow Gotham FC on Instagram and Twitter: @GothamFC

Transcript

Mike Ham [0:15 - 0:24]: All right, what's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Greetings from the Garden State, powered by the New Jersey Lottery. I'm Mike Ham. We're out in Whippany today at the Gotham fc. What do you call this? The. The training. 

Yael Averbuch West [0:24 - 0:25]: Training facility. 

Mike Ham [0:25 - 0:32]: Training facility. We're with general manager yael averbuch West. Nailed it. 

Yael Averbuch West [0:32 - 0:33]: That was good. Very good pronunciation. 

Mike Ham [0:33 - 0:37]: All right, thank you. So thank you for having me here. I'm very excited. 

Yael Averbuch West [0:37 - 0:38]: Yeah, no, we're glad to have you. 

Mike Ham [0:38 - 0:48]: Absolutely. So I think, like, right out of the gate, the one thing when I was talking to Megan off mic and some of the research that we were doing beforehand. Jersey girl. 

Yael Averbuch West [0:48 - 0:53]: Yes, I am very much a Jersey girl. My accent doesn't say that, but I. 

Mike Ham [0:53 - 0:58]: Don'T think that it really, like, it's just, you know, all encompassing. Like, nobody really says Joycey. You know what I mean? 

Yael Averbuch West [0:59 - 0:59]: True. 

Mike Ham [0:59 - 1:05]: I guess some people do. Honestly, some of the people that I actually know do. But, uh, but so from Montclair, right, If I'm not mistaken. 

Yael Averbuch West [1:05 - 1:11]: Yeah, from Montclair. Living back there now. So I finally made it back home. But, yeah, I'm very. I really think highly of New Jersey. 

Mike Ham [1:11 - 1:12]: Yeah. 

Yael Averbuch West [1:12 - 1:13]: Which not everyone agrees with, but that's okay. 

Mike Ham [1:13 - 1:29]: Yeah. People here, the people that know, like, the real ones know kind of thing, you know? So can you talk to me a little bit about maybe kind of like growing up in Jersey and growing up in that area and then this, the soccer relationship as well and how that kind of went for you early on as a kid? 

Yael Averbuch West [1:29 - 2:47]: Yeah. So I, you know, my family is a family of athletes, but runners mostly. So not. Nobody really knew soccer. But I started playing just because my friend in school played. And I didn't realize at the time how amazing this area is for soccer. This is a hotbed not only of talent, but just of really knowledgeable soccer people. So growing up, I had coaches and mentors from literally all over the world. And my experience in soccer was really. I felt like I was really exposed to an amazing soccer culture that was broader than just open. Oh, I'm a soccer player. I want to play college soccer. I want to be a professional player, which were my goals. But I had coaches from all over the world who genuinely loved the game. We got to go watch games. I understood that they were fans of teams from their home countries and that it was much broader than that. And so, yeah, I had a really phenomenal soccer upbringing, and I got to play with a lot of top players from around the world who had moved to this area. After their careers. And so I kind of had a really good understanding of if you want to play soccer. Well, here's what it looks like to be best in the world or here's what it means worldwide. And you know, I went on and I got to live my childhood dream, which is amazing. And now it's really cool for me to be back kind of full circle in this role in this place, which, you know, this is my hometown club, this is my home soccer community. And to connect it all back together is a really fun project. 

Mike Ham [2:47 - 3:23]: Yeah, that's really cool. And honestly, like, I mean, I was on the Gorillas, the Purple Gorillas and Pequonic, like youth soccer when I was 8. And that was like really the last time I played soccer. But really in the last probably six months, you know, doing stuff with Evan Dabby and New Jersey youth soccer and all the stuff that we've kind of done since then, working, doing some things with the host committee for the World cup coming next year. And just like being exposed to the soccer community here now, it's like, it's impressive kind of what, what it's sort of grown to. And I. Have you seen similar things kind of on your end in the youth game? 

Yael Averbuch West [3:23 - 3:24]: Yeah, I mean, it's funny. 

Mike Ham [3:24 - 3:28]: The gorillas, I love that our thing was gorillas. 

Yael Averbuch West [3:29 - 3:33]: That's good. I like it. Yeah. If I've coached my kids teams ever, I'm going to remember that. 

Mike Ham [3:33 - 3:35]: Yeah, it has to be the gorillas. It only works for that animal. 

Yael Averbuch West [3:35 - 4:53]: Yeah. Excellent. But yeah, you know, I think from my perspective, soccer has always been really big here. And I used to think of how many players from, you know, a 10 or 15 mile radius of Montclair, literally where I grew up, how many players ended up going pro and playing at the highest level of the game. And it's really phenomenal. Like, you look at New Dr. Jersey, maybe Southern California, Texas, and there's a few others are really these hotbeds of soccer development and talent that ends up on the world stage. And so that I thought was normal. I realized when I went out to the larger world of soccer that's not normal and it's really special. But certainly now, yeah, we're seeing an amazing buzz. And with the World cup coming here and the World cup final being here, that's obviously incredibly special. But it's always been a hotbed of talent and of soccer knowledge. And you could even see it in our fan base at Gotham. People know when and they know what's quality. They don't just cheer for Goals. They don't cheer when we just clear the ball because we, you know, cleared the ball. They like quality. They understand the game. They know when our team is playing well. They know when we're not playing well. And they scrutinize it in a really special way. I think so. I think it's always been here. Now we definitely are feeling the buzz, though. And now you've come back into the game from the Gorillas. That's special. But yeah, I think it's always. Yeah, he's got special shout outs. 

Mike Ham [4:53 - 4:56]: Yeah, yeah. If he listens, that'd be great. Honestly. 

Yael Averbuch West [4:56 - 5:07]: No, I think it's always. It's always been a really special. And soccer here, at least since I was growing up, been really big. And really not just big in terms of numbers, but big in terms of knowledge. 

Mike Ham [5:07 - 5:33]: Sure. Can we talk about too, like obviously you personally, your playing career. I was looking through all the stuff that you've accomplished as a player, which is considerable when you think that the types of the people that when they get to that level, it's hard to do any level of professional sports, the transition into a front office kind of role, because was that ever on your radar, ever something that you ever thought may be something that you would be interested in at some point? 

Yael Averbuch West [5:34 - 6:56]: Not really. I always knew I was going to stay involved in the game. Soccer, for me was more than my playing career. It really has become a huge part of my life. It's how I met my husband. It's how I know basically all my friends come from soccer. It's really part of who I am. So I always wanted to stay involved in what I became kind of an expert in, in one sense on the field, but also just it's had such a big influence on me on a personal level. I didn't know how that would look. I thought it might be through influencing other players in their soccer development more on an individual level. So when this opportunity presented itself, to be honest, I was a little. I was unsure because it was not part of my dream. I actually didn't. On my professional teams, the general manager didn't have a very prominent role or wasn't someone who looked like me. It wasn't a former player. So it was a little confusing to me to try to, you know, fit it all together is how does. How does this work or what should this look like now that I'm in this role and now that I'm seeing the direction that the women's game is going and the amount of opportunity in the women's game and at this club, specifically at Gotham, it's incredibly exciting, and I feel like I'm meant to be involved in this and I'm meant to be doing this, but I definitely didn't have that vision. And there wasn't a pathway. There weren't women owning teams. There weren't women in front office jobs. There weren't that many women coaching, even. So at the professional level, beyond playing, I didn't really have a vision of myself being involved. 

Mike Ham [6:56 - 7:04]: Yeah. So when you first started as the. As the GM and president of soccer operations, too, right? 

Yael Averbuch West [7:04 - 7:05]: Yeah. Head of soccer operations. 

Mike Ham [7:05 - 7:26]: Head of soccer operations. So was there, like, a learning curve at the beginning? Did you, like, have anybody like, you talked about kind of almost like a lack of. You said people that look like you. Did that make it more difficult to try to, like, seek out people that would be able to kind of help to do the job and also excel in that career like you're doing now? 

Yael Averbuch West [7:26 - 7:28]: I mean, the learning curve is still going. 

Mike Ham [7:28 - 7:32]: Sure. Like anything with any job, you're always learning. 

Yael Averbuch West [7:32 - 8:41]: And it's interesting, too, because the job itself is changing. As our club develops, we've had new ownership come on. The vision of what we're doing has expanded significantly. So actually, the job itself has evolved as I evolve into it. But. But, yeah, I have a lot of support from our ownership group, where my bosses who have worked with me directly, gotten in the weeds when needed, and also really supported me in developing some of the skills that are really new to me. I mean, some of the financial side, and that is like, things I've never done before. So a lot of that is new. And also to take what I do know, which is from my journey as a player, and has to do with, you know, putting together a roster and understanding the nuances of that. There's science to it, but there's also a lot of art to it and understanding people and understanding where we've gone wrong and how to correct that and when we've gone right and why that works. Double down on it. So I have a lot of support to take the skill sets I have and to grow on them and to make them even better. But also, there's a ton of gaps. Anybody starting any job has. But I have a lot of gaps just because I didn't have an experience doing that, didn't have experience working in a traditional company before this. 

Mike Ham [8:42 - 8:42]: Like an office. 

Yael Averbuch West [8:42 - 9:30]: What is an office? Even an office. I know, I know. I basically said my dream in life was never to have a real job. And I have said A couple times to the people I work with on ownership, I say I think I kind of failed at that. Like, some days it feels real, but it's also. This isn't a real job in the sense that this is such a passion project for me and it fits so many pieces of who I am together that I still don't. I don't think I totally failed. But some days when I'm in the office, I am thinking this is a little. A little real, especially when the weather's nice and I want to be out on the field. But yeah, definitely, I have had. I haven't had so much a mentor who literally followed my same path, came from being a player to GM and progressed from there. But I definitely have a lot of support and I ask for a lot of help. I really ask for a lot of help. And I'm okay to be vulnerable and say what I don't know. That's the way I've kind of progressed. 

Mike Ham [9:30 - 9:48]: Yeah, I love that. And so when we're talking about. You had talked about kind of the scope of the job since you started has changed because the vision of the team has changed. Can we talk about, like, what that vision is and how it's evolved and why that's important to kind of the culture and the community that the team's been able to build around what, what you do? 

Yael Averbuch West [9:48 - 10:09]: Yeah. So at the moment, I mean, we have global ambitions. You know, we. I think when I started and when I played, I'd say especially the vision for a women's professional soccer team was you kind of got to be coupled with a men's team as the parent club and then you can follow that, you can use their facilities. You can be. Yeah. The ladies version of the men's. 

Mike Ham [10:09 - 10:09]: Yeah. 

Yael Averbuch West [10:10 - 11:54]: And now we've returned to corner. I think over the last few years in nwsl, we have seen that being an independent club, which we are Gotham, can be an advantage. We see Kansas City current building their own facilities, having a women's only soccer specific stadium. These are things that I didn't even think were possible as part of the vision. Now that's the vision. Everyone is finding their own way. And at Gotham, we're finding our own way. How to kind of harness the power of this Tri State area and the ambition of the Tri State area. You know, when you come to live in New York, New Jersey, you expect that you have access to the world and the world is looking at you. And so how do we make the Gotham brand kind of synonymous with that both on the Field in terms of demanding excellence, like, for us, we expect to win. We don't win. We are more disappointed than the fans. We know that the community here expects winners, expects excellence, expects world class. And that's our vision. We would hope that upcoming that we're recognized worldwide as kind of the global women's soccer brand. And that's our expectation. We're certainly not there yet. We have a long way to go. It has to be on the field, it has to be off the field. But definitely my vision when I was playing was, yeah, you had to be partnered with a men's club, and you'd always kind of be second to that, and you're always going to play in the men's facilities, and it's going to look this certain way. Now we have women's teams who have set the bar. You know, we're, in some ways, we're leading the way in other ways. We're looking at what other people are doing. And really, I have a lot of admiration for, you know, we look at Portland Thorns, who, before anyone else, was selling out their stadium for a women's soccer game on, like, a rainy night, no one else would usually come. And we look at Kansas City, like I mentioned, and we look at, you know, what's happening in the women's game. It's really phenomenal. And there's an amazing opportunity now for us to make huge strides towards becoming the global brand that we want to become. 

Mike Ham [11:54 - 13:07]: That's really interesting. And it's not even something like, like, I told you, like, really kind of exposing myself to soccer and everything that's happening kind of in the game, both from the youth level, doing our stuff with New Jersey youth soccer earlier this year, to just having this conversation with you because, like, you know, you see stuff on, I don't know, TV or whatever about, like, the WNBA and the NBA and how, like, you know, all those different things and how those games are, like, related or kind of tied together, you know, and how they. And how they operate. But to see kind of this as a standalone brand and be able to, like, have those aspirations, I think is phenomenal. And I think that just kind of, like, looking forward into the future, I think that that's. That's amazing. So when we're talking about two, like, different initiatives and visions and all that you've mentioned a couple of times, just kind of the, like, your fans and the community around the team and, you know, when we talk about, you know, we go to, like, a local business, obviously, the people that come in and support that local business are literally what drives it, like, what makes it happen. And on a, you know, any kind of team, that. That's. That's what it is here, too. So can we talk about that and how you continue to try to not. Not by even beyond just putting a good product on the field, but kind of engage them in ways that makes them feel connected to Gotham and the brand and the team and everything. 

Yael Averbuch West [13:08 - 15:01]: Yeah, and this is the challenge. You know, there's so much going on in this market in New Jersey, New York, that to get people's attention is not easy. And, you know, even if you look at youth soccer, families, they're out at the field on the weekend, people have there. There's tons of sporting events, there's concerts, there's everything that's going on here. So for us, kind of our lane in that, and to get people surrounding it is hugely challenging. But also, I think what we're doing is so special, and so there's so much positive energy behind it that really what people have an opportunity to do when they follow our team is to be part of building a legacy. We're in such early years, and the way I feel, why I feel so excited and so passionate to be working on this, is that I get to be part of building something that I think one day people are going to look back on and be like, remember when this just started? So for our fans, and some of them have been around since even. Even earlier days, but people who are joining now and just learning about us now you have the opportunity to be part of the beginning of something that really is a movement. We're just seeing the start of it. And I think it's really special to literally power this club and this team to eventually achieve our ambitions of being this global brand. So, you know, we. I do think also who we are, we really resonate with the community in a certain way, and we are involved in the community and things like the Keep her in the Game initiative, where we are providing opportunities for girls to be involved in soccer. So there are things that we reach out into the community, but also we need the community to support us and to propel us forward. Like, we are defined by how many people care about us, basically. Not just know about us, but actually care about us, whether they're in the stadium or following online or wearing their Gotham, you know, hoodie on the streets of Brooklyn or whatever it is, you know, that all is part of a momentum swell, and it's all really important to us. So we are working very hard to build that momentum. And it's going to take time, but definitely, you know, we need to be powered by the energy that exists in this area. 

Mike Ham [15:01 - 15:31]: Yeah. The Mayo Performing Arts center is the heart of arts and Entertainment in Morristown, New Jersey. MPAC presents over 200 events annually and is home to an innovative children's arts education program. To see MPAC's upcoming schedule of world class concerts, stand up comedy, family shows and more, head to mayoarts.org or just click the link in our show notes. Yeah, and I think too, like, even just like the game day experiences as well, you know, and like being able to kind of create an experience for like now. I mean, I haven't been to a game, admittedly. I'm just gonna say it. What I know, but I will. 

Yael Averbuch West [15:31 - 15:32]: Okay, good. You better. 

Mike Ham [15:32 - 15:58]: But. But like we were talking about or kind of off mic and kind of as we were getting prepped and when this episode comes out, it's gonna come out. We're recording this on May, whatever today is 13th, 14th, sometime around that, sometime around then. And it's gonna come out next Tuesday. So the 20th. So can we talk about, like, I think that next home game is Pride Night and different nights like that. And then obviously that's like an important piece of the whole thing too, to make sure that you're connecting with all different kinds of communities. Right? 

Yael Averbuch West [15:58 - 16:43]: Yeah. So June 7th is Pride Night. We're playing against Kansas City Current, who I referenced, who have their own stadium. But yeah, we have. I think our game day experience is really fun and special. And so our hope is that we get people in the door and everyone has such a great time that you have to come back, you have to tell your friends about it because it's really fun. Whether you know soccer really well and you're an expert or not. It's a fun time. It's a really fun community. We often have like, people are tailgating. We have events going on outside of the game. There's face painting for kids. We really try to make it a wonderful, you know, fireworks. There's all kinds of things going on. So yeah, we're connect on June 7th is Pride Night. We have a Juneteenth game. We have a number of themes. We actually have. This will come out after our Broadway theme night, which is this Friday, but maybe you can make that one. 

Mike Ham [16:44 - 16:45]: Maybe we have our big event this Saturday. 

Yael Averbuch West [16:46 - 16:48]: Okay, we won't hold you to that. So Pride Night, you'll be there? 

Mike Ham [16:48 - 16:50]: Yeah, sure. Yeah, that I could definitely make. 

Yael Averbuch West [16:50 - 17:02]: But yeah, you know, it's an event and it's a fun time. And yes, the focus of it is what happens on the field. But surrounding that, there's a lot going on and we really take a lot of pride in what our game day experience. 

Mike Ham [17:02 - 17:52]: Yeah, can we talk too about like when we're, you know, like as a general manager and like I played baseball my whole life. I played baseball through college. I coached college baseball for a while. So like that's how my brain like works, you know, like, and you watch Brian Cashman or all these other GMs put together teams and different things. Can we talk about like when you're assembling a team here? Because if I'm not mistaken, like there's plenty of players that have like Olympic experience and not to mention medals as well. Like there's all sorts of, like you mentioned before, players on the team that have like international experience. And I think that that goes a long way in kind of defining just like how quality the product on the field is. So can we talk about that and like what that process is like and what the, you know, obviously the goal and vision is to create, put together the best team. But then also, you know, how that's important. 

Yael Averbuch West [17:52 - 19:58]: Yeah, well, the product on the field is the most important thing. You know, people, and especially because I think in this area people really respect and recognize that. So yeah, we, you know, we have world class players in every single position. So you know, when I'm talking to youth soccer clubs or connecting with youth soccer players, the best players in the world in large part are playing in this league. And you know, if you're from New Jersey, New York, tri state area, in your hometown club, we have some of the best in the world. We have World cup champions, we have Olympic gold medalists. And now, you know, in the women's game, the depth of talent has increased so significantly that we have a really robust scouting process. We use data, we use probably not as evolved as baseball is what you're thinking in terms of some of that. So we're working on it in terms, especially the use of data. But yeah, really we're like one, two, sometimes three players deep in terms of world class talent in every spot. And similar to those of you listening who are more familiar with baseball, basketball or other sports that are very kind of like American centric, the world game of soccer on the men's side, the top talent is in Europe and sometimes now coming to mls. MLS is really growing. We've kind of disrupted that in women's side in the sense that some of the top leagues are in Europe, but NWSL is a top league in the world. So some of the absolute best players in the world are in nwsl and a lot of them. So when you want to see the best soccer in the women's side in the world, you can go to NWSL games and it's there. And I think I'm always fascinated by watching the best in the world at whatever it is. And I think there's a real respect for that in this area of the country because people come here to do their craft and be part of the best in the world. And that's what we have at Gotham. And yeah, it's really, it's a treat to assemble the roster because we're always looking at fine tuning. How can we be a little bit better? What opportunities, what spots do we have open? And we are scouring the entire world. Whether it's a young player from the US, a college player in the US Another player in NWSL, or someone from a league somewhere else in the world. We have the opportunity to bring them here and players want to come play here in the New York area. So yeah, we really can pick and choose from worldwide talent. 

Mike Ham [19:58 - 20:43]: Yeah. And can we talk too? Like when you are, I guess, you know, looking for players when you're, you know, like trying to entice players to come play here. Can we talk about like, what. I mean, obviously we know because like we said before, the real ones know. But if they're not from the new. I mean we're in New Jersey right now. Like if they're not from here and they obviously they're aware of New York City, they don't know much about Jersey. Like how do you present what this opportunity is like? Because I mean, they know the success, they know like all that stuff. They know that it's a world class organization and all that. But obviously like it's going to be where they live and they may. May. Wow. Come on, Mike. May have never been here ever. Maybe they've gone to the city, maybe they've flown into Newark. But yeah, hopefully not. 

Yael Averbuch West [20:44 - 22:31]: Then they're not coming here. But yeah, so yeah, I think so. So there's kind of two parts of it. One is that we, we even say this. Like this is, I think this is true about this area living here. But also our club, it's not for everyone. Like it's hard and we want people to feel that it's hard and we want players who want to get better, even if they've achieved it all on their resume. The Good fits for our club are the players who are really hungry to get better. So we kind of start with that and we ask players what's most important to you. And if they say something like, oh, I want to be in nice weather or take home a big paycheck, and that's all I care about, we're kind of like, that's great. But that's not what Gotham's about. Gotham is about. We want to work and we want to always, relentlessly pursue what's next and what's. As a team and as individuals. But it's funny, you know, we have. We have pitched to players, and you have to kind of figure out if you want to play up the city or the suburb feel, because we have both. And what's. What we told them. You know, we have a little bit of everything. But we've sometimes tried to play up what we told someone. Oh, like, yeah, you're right. We're right near New York City, and they're like, oh, boy, I'm scared of the city, somebody. But also, we're in the suburbs. We're not see it. And then. And then similarly, like, you know, we have some players who are like, listen, that's cool. You got all that. I just want to go to training and back and relax. And then we say, okay, well, that's great. Most of our players do live in the suburbs. We're right near the training facility. It could be anywhere in the world. It's calm, there's trees, parks. And I think that is what's special about it, is there is a little bit of everything and then there's the in between. You know, you can live in, like, you can take the train into the city, but live in the suburbs. And I think it really does, because of that appeal to everyone. But it is funny because when we pitch players, we have to try to assess or ask them what they like. We do lay it out as we have everything, but. So we have a couple of times gone wrong, either one way or another, and then we realize we got a course correct. Cause they like the other. The other side of whatever you presented. But it's every, you know, there's everything here. It's something for everyone. 

Mike Ham [22:31 - 23:29]: Yeah, and that's the thing. I mean, like you mentioned Montclair before. I live in Bloomfield right now. And like, you just talk about, you know, towns like that that are so accessible, they have so much to offer. And it's just like a unique. Just the state itself is so unique. I was literally just doing an interview For a newspaper as on my way here and just talking about, like, all the things that are unique about the state. Like, you can go to the beach, you can go to the. You know, go for a hike up in northwest Jersey. You can go all over the place. It's just so much to offer. So then as we're kind of, like, progressing towards the end of this episode, and I know that it's flown by because. Cause this has been a great conversation, talking about, like, different ways that the brand is out there. Like, I know we talked about some of, like, the outreach and different things and kind of like the vision for it being, like an international brand and kind of developing kind of a. Like, people see that logo and they're like, yep, I know what that is. What are ways. This might be a hard question to answer, but what are some other ways that you're doing that? 

Yael Averbuch West [23:29 - 25:41]: Yeah, there's. I mean. I mean, there are a lot of ways, and there's a lot of growth we need to have in this area. I think for us, you know, yes, we want to be a global brand, but what we know is that still at home, like, we need more people to know about us and to understand who we are. And so there are huge initiatives going on, not just in the youth soccer community, because that's a big one, but also just, you know, in the young adult, young professionals, people who are just interested in sports, want to get together with friends and do something fun. Like it can appeal to anyone. So we are doing a lot of work to get the word out there. I think, you know, if you don't follow us on social media, I would recommend, you know, following us. We have fun content all the time. Our players show up to the games and they're wearing, like, we have kind of like a fashion Runway. So we are through what our players do and giving people access to seeing our players. We try to appeal to a large number of people. And, you know, we have a. We just launched a youth soccer newsletter called the GFC Collective. You can sign up on our website. So if you're. If you are a youth soccer parent, player, coach, you can get kind of monthly tips. We shared our. The locker room playlist. The players listen to nutrition tips, things like that. But like I said, you know, if you're into fashion, if you're. Whatever you're into, we have something for you. So we are trying to reach pretty broadly into the area and to encourage people to talk about us, like, analyze our game, say what you liked, what you didn't like. So yeah, there's a lot of initiatives going on to get people in the stands on game day, but also just to have people talking about us, have people wearing. We have a pretty cool, cool looking brand with. And so we have. Sometimes we have exclusive merch drops and stuff and you see people. I've even been on the streets in Montclair and I see someone riding their bike by with like a Gotham shirt on and it's really cool. So, yeah, encourage people, you know, buy a shirt. If someone asks you what it is, tell them it's the women's professional soccer team. And that's kind of how I think how it really happens is through, you know, visibility, word of mouth, people having a great time and bringing others in. And it's really a cultural movement. So that's how we're approaching it. We have these pockets of, you know, of where culture has developed and I think I grew up in one. So I'm really passionate about getting everyone from Montclair to know about Gotham. But it has to happen like that kind of place by place. 

Mike Ham [25:41 - 26:09]: Yeah, it's funny too. Like we're talking, you know, and like I'm just thinking I've been to one professional soccer game in my life was when I lived in Rochester. I was coaching up there. I went to a Rochester Rhinos game and it was like, I mean, I was coaching in college. Like I would watch like the college teams and all that and they were, they were good. But then to watch them play and like we were like on the beer deck, which was like. Right. Basically like on the field and how fast the game because like you watch it on TV and you're like, wow, it's just. 

Yael Averbuch West [26:09 - 26:10]: It looks very different. 

Mike Ham [26:11 - 26:38]: It looks. But you know, when you're in person and you're watching it go, it's, it's fast, it's like moving and it was. I had a great time and so which is, which is why I have to get out there. So I think like, if people, you know, maybe they're not like soccer, like you said, aficionados or whatever, they don't know everything about it. There's still, you know, like a, a positive or, you know, a interest in watching like world class athletes do anything because most people can't do what they do. 

Yael Averbuch West [26:38 - 27:23]: Yeah, I think. And that's why I feel like whoever you are, we have something for you. Whether it's community, we are really safe, inclusive space. So a lot of people maybe don't feel that comfortable like culturally in other sports environments. Like we are A safe place for everyone and anyone. Yeah, we have. If you like, if you're fascinated by watching the best in the world do what they do, we have that. If you want a fun time with like. Yeah. Fireworks, face painting, music, we have that. Our players are very accessible. They stay around, they sign autographs. If you do know who they are and get interested in one of the players, it's pretty easy to get their autograph after the game. So we really do try to appeal to everyone. So, like you said. Yeah, you don't have to be a soccer expert. If you are a soccer expert, I think you really enjoy it, but you don't have to be to enjoy it. 

Mike Ham [27:23 - 27:33]: Absolutely. I really appreciate you having me out today and having this conversation. It was great. And I can't wait to get. Get. I'm gonna come to the Pride game for sure. Okay. I'm gonna put it on the calendar. Deal? 

Yael Averbuch West [27:33 - 27:34]: Deal. Okay, good. Thank you. 

Mike Ham [27:34 - 27:43]: So if people wanna learn more, if they wanna buy tickets, if they wanna just like, engage more with kind of the things that you're doing, sign up for that newsletter that you mentioned earlier. Where would you send them to go do that? 

Yael Averbuch West [27:43 - 28:05]: Yeah. GothamFC.com, go to the website. You can see the game schedule, everything on there. I'd encourage people to follow us on social media. I'm always on Instagram. I just scroll at night. It's fun. You can see our players up close and personal. You can learn about them. So I'd say, yeah, go to the website or our social media. You just look up Gotham fc, it'll pop up and there's a lot that you can learn just from doing those things. 

Mike Ham [28:05 - 28:25]: Awesome. Well, thank you again. This has been phenomenal. And we'll wrap up now. So this has been the Greetings from the Garden of State podcast, powered by the New Jersey Lottery. We were out here with Gotham FC's General Manager and head of soccer operations, yael averbuch. West nailed it twice. Thank you for listening and we will catch you next time. 

Yael Averbuch West [28:51 - 29:03]: Sam.