The Oldest Supporters Group in MLS
The Empire Supporters Club was founded in 1995 by Kevin McAllister and a crew of punk rockers, skinheads, leftists, and soccer obsessives who wanted New York to have real supporter culture — not just soccer moms and corporate entertainment.
We started at New York Centaurs games in Downing Stadium. When MLS arrived in 1996, we claimed Section 101 at Giants Stadium and never left. Through the MetroStars years, the Red Bull rebrand, and three decades of ups and downs, we've been there.
"Our basic creed is that we're a nonracist, nonviolent supporters club that just comes to support our team... We stand and sing for 90 minutes, but that's basically it." — Corey Jamison, ESC member, 2007
Anti-Fascist from Day One
ESC was founded with a clear mission: make sure soccer in New York could not be taken over by far-right racist elements. In 1996, when neo-Nazis appeared at a MetroStars game, ESC members physically removed them. That wasn't an aberration — it was the point.
"We wanted to make sure that if soccer was coming to New York, New Jersey, that supporters sections were not allowed to be taken over by far-right racist elements." — Greg Pason, founding member
In 2023, when Dante Vanzeir used a racial slur, ESC walked out alongside Viking Army and Torcida 96 — because the founding principles still matter.