Stade Brestois New York
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| Full name | Stade Brestois New York |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Gwenn ha Ruz |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Stadium | Sara Delano Roosevelt Park |
| Chairman | Charles Kergaravat |
| Manager | Charles Kergaravat |
| League | Urban Soccer |
| 2012 | semi-final |
| Website | Club home page |
Stade Brestois New York is a soccer team gathering and made up of members of the Breton community in New York City. Organized by the BZH New York association, it was formerly called the Merlus de New York, until some players merged into the new team in 2011-2012. Sponsored by the professional French team Stade Brestois 29, the team plays seven a side by opposition to the eleven a side team of Stade Breton. The former and the latter are two different teams playing at two different levels.
Starting from 1955 after the creation of Stade Breton, soccer gained in popularity amongst Breton migrants in New York throughout the 20th century. The club featured many skilful players, especially from Celtic Brittany, and played at the top level of the State of New York, in the Eastern District Soccer League.
However, from the beginning of the 21st century, Stade Breton’s soccer team started getting worse in terms of results. Some of their players left the team to play with teams of newly-immigrating communities, like Africans and in the meantime, they did not succeed anymore in the New York cup (a competition Stade Breton won several times in the past), being severely defeated in some matches .
Besides, Stade Breton’s historical sponsor, the restaurant Tout Va Bien in Manhattan, decided to withdraw and broke the historic partnership with the team. Actually, the 2011/12 EDSL Open Division season was the last one played by Stade Breton .
The last great achievement of Stade Breton was on June 7, 2009 in State Cup Final, when they tied 1-1 and lost in the penalty kicks against a Portuguese team, despite a goal scored by the Alsatian Thierry Kranzer . By contrast, the soccer section of BZH New York, a Breton cultural association in NY created in 2006, developed partnerships with professional teams located in Brittany.
In August 2008, BZH New York's president, Laurent Corbel, meets with the FC Lorient (aka Les Merlus) and signed a sponsorship agreement with the French club . Named Merlus de New York to match its sponsor’s nickname, this was the first Breton team in New York apart from Stade Breton .
After FC Lorient’s sponsorship, Stade Brestois NY was created in September 2011 from a partnership between BZH New York and another French Ligue 1 team, Stade Brestois 29. Stade Brestois NY, composed of Bretons and friends of Brittany, competed in soccer leagues within NYC.
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