I first heard of the French Football Academy in New York the same way that Doris Josovitz did, through a friend whose children play youth football in the city. The sport is as much a fixture of stylish Brooklyn Heights as cobblestoned streets and Sahadi tote bags. Almost everyone knows someone who plays.
No wonder, for if you take the short walk west on Joralemon Street, past the sherbet-coloured town houses into Brooklyn Bridge Park, you will arrive upon one of the most breathtaking football pitches in the world: the fields at Pier 5.
Set atop the East River, with the glass-and-steel skyline of lower Manhattan looming over the turf, and views of the Statue of Liberty and New York harbour, the pristine pitches are usually booked full with football clubs and the odd lacrosse practice. There are primary schoolers right up to young professionals. City permits for the privilege to play here, I’m told, are in high demand, but the Academy has at least one practice per week on the pier, which is where I meet Josovitz’s son Rasmus and his teammates.