FC Harlem have announced the addition of the USMNT center back as an official club ambassador, strengthening their connection to professional soccer
McKenzie joins FC Harlem leadership USMNT defender emphasizes importance of urban youth development programsToulouse star plans regular involvement despite European club commitmentsWHAT HAPPENED
In an official social media post, FC Harlem officially announced that Toulouse Football Club defender Mark McKenzie has joined the organization as a club ambassador and honorary board member. The partnership connects one of American soccer's most prominent Black professional players with a youth development organization specifically focused on creating opportunities in underserved urban communities.
“What’s going on, everybody? Mark McKenzie here. Very excited that I’ll be a club ambassador and honorary board member of FC Harlem. FC Harlem is a club that represents everything that I stand for and is going to bring the beautiful game of soccer to inner cities, especially in the U.S.,” McKenzie said on the club’s social media post.
“I’m very excited to see FC Harlem joining MLS Next next year, and I’m very excited for the youth who are going to get a chance to play football at the highest level. And that’s going to send a powerful and positive message to all throughout the US that the game is fair to everybody.”
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FC Harlem have established themselves as a pioneering organization in urban youth soccer development, working to address systemic barriers to participation in traditionally underrepresented communities. McKenzie's involvement represents part of a broader movement of professional players reinvesting in grassroots development, with Tim Weah part of USL side Brooklyn FC's ownership group.
WHAT’S NEXT?
For FC Harlem, the focus will be on their first season in the MLS Next Pro and the various other tournaments that youth players can and will be allowed to participate in because of that. The 2025 season will be the club’s first in the youth-specific tournament despite being active since 1990.