ENYSSA was founded in 1913 to serve as an organization to nurture and develop the sport of soccer in eastern New York. The purpose of the organization is encourage the development of the sport and encourage the growth of community leagues, organizations, clubs, programs, and teams in the state. This is so that the sport is accessible to all New Yorkers. ENYSSA's additional purposes are to promote and foster sportsmanship, as well as organize tournaments. The first formations of the ENYSSA began on March 25, 1886, with the foundation of the New York State Football Association. The NYSFA was organized during a meeting at the Riverside Club Rooms in New York. The organization was founded with the founding of the following six clubs in New York:
The organization changed its name to the Southern New York Football Association in 1912, and then in 1913 became the current, Eastern New York State Soccer Association. On December 22, 2017, in the wake of the 2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election, Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated reported that outgoing U.S. Soccer President, Sunil Gulati and Major League Soccer commissioner, Don Garber were campaigning for, and hosted a campaign dinner for Kathy Carter with members of ENYSSA. This sparked a potential conflict of interest given Carter's current role with Soccer United Marketing, and SUM's relationship with U.S. Soccer and MLS. Carter denied any collusion between her, Gulati and Garber. Shortly after, Carter received the endorsement from ENYSSA and the New Jersey Soccer Association. When asked on Twitter about the decision-making process to endorse Carter, the ENYSSA blocked several accounts on Twitter, only to revert the blocks and claiming their account was "hacked".
Presidents of ENYSSA
There have been 10 presidents in the history of ENYSSA. The current president is Sal Rapaglia, who has been president of ENYSSA since 1990. Rapaglia was the previous president from 1979 until 1986.
President
Years
Rudolph Manning
1913–1925
Harry Krauss
1958–1965
Ludolf Heidecker
1965–1967
Archie Gabrielson
1967–1969
Harry Saunders
1969–1972
Saverio Foglia
1972–1974
George Donnelly
1974–1977
Enzo Magrozzi
1977–1979
Sal Rapaglia
1979–1986
Costas Macuos
1986–1990
Sal Rapaglia
1990–
Administration
ENYSSA is governed by a board of directors that serve from August to July of the given calendar year. The current administration is as follows:
