These Are the 6 Best Places to Play Pickup Soccer in NYC

Despite only fielding an MLS team in NYC proper for a couple of years–no, Red Bulls, your Harrison, New Jersey stadium doesn’t count–New York has a rich soccer culture that dates back to the days of Pelé at the New York Cosmos. On a more local level, you can go all over the five boroughs and find dozens of games happening on every kind of pitch you can imagine; from the blacktop exhibitions in the Lower East Side to the grassy fields in Brooklyn. If you’re new to the city, visiting for a weekend, or just looking for new places to show off your rabona skills, it may even be overwhelming to find out where the hottest games are happening in the city.

That’s why we’re here. We’ve scoured the Big Manzana in order to find the hottest spots to lace up and curl some bangers in…or at least try to, anyway. These are 6 of the best places to play soccer in NYC; if none of these catch your fancy, you can always hit up your local park with friends and create your own pick-up game. That’s the magic of the city in action.