Central Park Rangers Football Club
History
Central Park Rangers started as a humble five-a-side team who played at Chelsea Piers. It was player Paul Clayton who had the idea to create an 11-a-side club whilst at work, sitting across from the Barnstonworth Rovers President. On Wednesday February 17th, 1999, the Chelsea Piers team convened to the midtown Irish bar, Thady Con’s, and the seeds of CPR were sown. One thing’s for sure, you will be happy that the founding members did not stick with their five-a-side name: ‘Blue Hawaii’. No seriously, that was the name.
Two weeks after that night in Thady Con’s the first ever CPR team took to the field on Roosevelt Island in a friendly against Barnstonworth Rovers. The game ended in a 4-1 defeat, with Rich Veysey scoring the very first CPR goal. Soon we had a team in the MetroSoccer league and that fall we entered the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, coached by former Malmö and Sweden youth player, Casper Pauckstadt. Yes, 1999 was the start of something beautiful.
Each year the club has grown, new teams have emerged: men, women and youth, and today CPR can proudly boast of being one of the best represented clubs in the New York City area.
Mission statement
CPR is an inclusive club. Regardless of religion, race, where you come from or socioeconomic situation, we strive to provide a friendly and healthy environment where people can meet and grow as footballers and individuals. We are driven by a passion for football and always try our best on the pitch, but never at the expense of our ethos of fairness, integrity, and respect.
We know the immensely positive impact that being a member of this club can have: it has literally changed many of our member’s lives. People have met their spouses, life-long friends, and stayed in New York when the chance of a move arose, because of CPR. Every player, coach, manager, volunteer and person involved with CPR should be cognizant of this when representing the club. They should take satisfaction in endeavoring to add to, and build upon, the goodwill and hard work of those that have built the club from nothing.
Code of conduct
The club stands for representing the best aspects of sport. We play hard but fair and always respect our fellow club members and opponents. Racism and bigotry will absolutely not be tolerated under any circumstances.
As inclusion is a major cornerstone of our club, rather than expel someone who has stepped out of line from the club, we work to assimilate them into our ethos. However, incidents of indiscipline are bound to happen, and when they do, they are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. If someone acts in a way that is not representative of the club, they will generally be given a second chance, but if improper behavior persists they will be asked to find another club.
The Future
Seeing as, at the last count(!), there are 14 kids who are the product of couples who met while playing for CPR, it seems only right that there be a CPR Kids team to join the men’s and women’s, so we now have added a budding Youth Academy.
Since our founding we have prided ourselves on welcoming people who are new to the United States and New York. Helping new arrivals to our city to settle and make lasting friendships. For our native New Yorkers, they have been exposed to different cultures and backgrounds. There is power in numbers and we have an extensive network of current players and alumni that individually, and collectively, we can harness for the common good. At our core we wish to continue to be the most welcoming club in New York City.
Click Here for a look at the club’s timeline of squads over the years, and the various leagues and divisions in which they competed.
For info on what we have won, visit the Awards page.
