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Blau Weiss Gottschee

EIN: 11-6074351 · Tax status: 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Overview

Blau Weiss Gottschee (BW Gottschee) is a 501(c)(3) youth soccer club founded in 1951 by Austrian immigrants in the Ridgewood/Glendale area of Queens, New York. The club operates from Middle Village, Queens (legal entity: Blau Weiss Gottschee Inc., EIN: 11-6074351), and has been tax-exempt since May 1998. It is one of the oldest continuously operating youth soccer clubs in the United States and carries a European immigrant identity that distinguishes it from most contemporary American youth clubs.

BW Gottschee serves players from U4 through U19 across a tiered program structure: a Grassroots/Intramural program for ages 4–9, a Zone 1 Development track for U8–U11, a Pre-Academy tier, and a full Academy program at U12–U19. The club also runs a girls program and futsal training. Total team count across programs is reported at approximately 26 teams. The club trains and competes at Metropolitan Oval — the historic Queens facility shared with Met Oval Academy.

BW Gottschee is a founding affiliate of the New York Red Bulls Academy, giving its top youth players a documented pathway into MLS academy consideration. The club’s most prominent alumni — Timothy Weah (USMNT, Olympique de Marseille) and Jack McGlynn (USMNT, Houston Dynamo) — represent some of the highest-profile player development outcomes of any independent club in the New York metro area.

Financials

FY 2024 (990 filing, HIGH):

  • Total Revenue: $1,005,107
  • Total Expenses: $1,040,517
  • Net Assets: $223,284
  • Net income: -$35,410
  • Program service revenue: $949,816 (94.5% of total)

The organization has maintained annual revenues in the $700K–$1.1M range over the past several years. The FY2024 filing shows a modest operating deficit of $35,410. No executive or officer compensation is reported — all listed board members serve without pay. The prior year (FY2023) posted revenue of $1,026,884 vs. expenses of $976,991, a slight surplus. The declining net assets trend (from higher levels in prior years) warrants monitoring.

Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, EIN 11-6074351, FY2024 filing (November 2025).

Teams & Players

BW Gottschee structures its programs in five tiers:

  • Grassroots / Intramural (U4–U9): Entry-level co-ed programming, recreational emphasis
  • Zone 1 Development (U8–U11): Developmental boys teams building toward academy entry
  • Pre-Academy: Competitive bridge between development and full academy
  • Academy / MLS NEXT (U12–U19): Top-pathway boys program competing in MLS NEXT and NAL
  • Girls Program: Separate girls pathway, specific league tier not detailed on website
  • Futsal: Year-round indoor training complement

Total clubs report approximately 26 teams across all programs and age groups. The academy philosophy emphasizes ball mastery, individual creativity, and intelligent decision-making, with younger age groups prioritizing dribbling skill over results.

League Affiliations

Facilities

Metropolitan Oval, Maspeth, Queens: BW Gottschee’s primary training and competition venue, shared with Met Oval Academy. The facility at 60th St & 60th Ct (11378) was resurfaced in 2024 with Tencate Pivot Noninfill turf and GeoSport LED lighting. Includes a gymnasium, locker rooms, and offices. The field dates to 1925 and is considered the oldest continuously used soccer field in the United States. Neither BW Gottschee nor Met Oval discloses the ownership split or lease terms for the facility publicly.

Leadership

  • Timon Kalpaxis — President (no compensation)
  • Dom Giampapa — Vice President (no compensation)
  • Walter Schemitsch — Treasurer (no compensation)
  • Barbara Giglio — Secretary (no compensation)
  • Miguel Brunengo — Director
  • Annie Scimemi — Director
  • George Silva — Director
  • Paul McGlynn — Director of Coaching (family ties to notable alumni Jack McGlynn)

All board positions are uncompensated per 990 filings. Coaching staff compensation is included in program service expenses but individual salaries are not broken out in available 990-EZ or 990 filings at this scale.

Notable Alumni

BW Gottschee’s alumni track record is exceptional for a community-based nonprofit club:

  • Timothy Weah — USMNT; professional career includes Juventus, Lille, and Olympique de Marseille
  • Jack McGlynn — USMNT; Houston Dynamo (MLS); son of DOC Paul McGlynn
  • Omir Fernandez — Portland Timbers (MLS)
  • Dylan Nealis — New York Red Bulls (MLS)

The concentration of USMNT-caliber players from a single community club in Queens reflects both the Red Bulls pathway relationship and the club’s developmental philosophy.

Competitive Position

BW Gottschee competes in the same Queens market as Met Oval Academy, with both clubs using Metropolitan Oval as their primary venue. The two clubs occupy somewhat differentiated niches: Met Oval emphasizes a broader social mission and community access, while BW Gottschee leans into its European heritage identity and technical development philosophy. Both are MLS NEXT-level clubs with comparable annual budgets in the $1M range.

The Red Bulls founding affiliate status gives BW Gottschee a formal connection to an MLS first-team organization that Met Oval does not hold in the same structured way. However, Met Oval has arguably matched or exceeded BW Gottschee in documented player placements in recent years. The two clubs likely compete for the same pool of elite Queens youth players.

Industry Context

BW Gottschee represents a common archetype in urban youth soccer: a historically ethnic immigrant club that has evolved into a mainstream elite development program while retaining its community identity. The club’s Austrian-immigrant roots in 1951 Queens mirror the broader story of European immigrant communities using soccer as social infrastructure. That historical identity now functions as a brand differentiator in a market saturated with newer, often more commercially oriented clubs.

At roughly $1M in annual revenue with 26 teams, BW Gottschee operates at the lower end of the MLS NEXT independent club scale. The operating deficit in FY2024 and the declining net assets trend suggest the club may be under incremental financial pressure, as program costs — particularly staff, travel, and facility access — have risen faster than program-service revenue. The all-volunteer board and lack of executive compensation are characteristic of community-rooted nonprofits at this scale.

The Red Bulls affiliate relationship is structurally valuable: it provides BW Gottschee’s top players with a visible pathway to professional review without requiring the club to invest in a full MLS Next Pro feeder program. As MLS academies increasingly formalize their affiliate networks, maintaining that founding-member status is a key institutional asset for the club.

Open Questions

  • Exact nature of the BW Gottschee vs. Met Oval facility arrangement at Metropolitan Oval — lease terms, cost-sharing, scheduling priority
  • Current total player count (26 teams implies roughly 350–500 players depending on roster sizes)
  • Girls program league affiliations and competitive level
  • Whether the FY2024 deficit reflects a one-time expense spike or a structural trend
  • Paul McGlynn’s current coaching role vs. board role — titles appear to overlap in different sources

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